End of life care
Our goals and priorities
End-of-life care means identifying patients who are at risk of being exposed to too much medical intervention that may do them more harm than good, and offering them acceptable alternatives.
Care at the end of life does not simply mean support during the dying phase, but support from the time of diagnosis of an incurable, life-threatening illness until death, and may well cover a longer period.
The challenge
In the context of end-of-life care, what is medically possible must be adapted to what is individually needed and desired. This requires a strong and sustainable relationship with you and your loved ones and your trust in our medical honesty and knowledge.
The health point invests a lot of time in knowing realistic predictive values of diagnostic tests and expected effect sizes of benefits and harms of therapeutic and screening interventions. This evidence-based approach is a prerequisite for avoiding unnecessary medical interventions.
Palliative care at home
End-of-life care can also take place at home. The Health Point provides this service in close collaboration with SPITEX Palliative Care and the relatives, whose participation can be very important for the patient, SPITEX and GPO and very fulfilling for the relatives.
Our activity in nursing homes
End-of-life care, of course, primarily affects the very old, but not only. The health point is responsible for the home medical care of two retirement and nursing homes(Breiten in Oberägeri and St. Franziskus in Menzingen) and is also active as a family doctor in the Chlösterli in Unterägeri. The cooperation with the nursing teams in the Breiten and St. Franziskus, allow us to implement our concept in harmony with the patient and relatives.
Of course, a living will is helpful here.