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Table 5 An overview of the mediation of interactions between palliative care professionals and other medical professionals by teleconsultation

From: Transmural palliative care by means of teleconsultation: a window of opportunities and new restrictions

 

Expected value of teleconsultation for the relationship of one palliative care professional to another medical professional

Established chain of palliative care: relationships between diverse caregivers

Teleconsultations as a means of bypassing hierarchical structures

Teleconsultations as a means of gaining access to the home

1. The autonomous director of the play

Respondent: “…if patients have open access, if they push a button and the caregiver of their choice directly appears on the screen, then the slackening aspects of the chain of care, which could help restore its normal course, are gone… Right now, the chain of care is ignored in several ways, with the up side of short cuts and the down side of people being passed over, of people who no longer know what’s going on or act on the basis of old information. But there’s still a certain barrier nowadays.”

Respondent: “…the family physician treats the patient [residing at home]. And we have to control our tendency to completely take over from the family physician, because that’s not the way it is supposed to be.”

2. Dependent on other caregivers’ stories

 

Respondent: “If you look for yourself, you see a patient totally different from the one you’ve been told about on the phone [by family physicians]”