Communiceren met palliatieve patiënten

This article provides practical advice on general practitioner (GP)-patient communication in palliative care, based on recent studies. To be effective communicators, GPs should be (1) available for their patients (e.g. taking time, allowing any subject to be discussed, listening actively, shared decision making), (2) take the initiative to talk about several current issues (e.g. diagnosis and prognosis, patient’s complaints and worries, unfinished business, treatment and care options), and (3) anticipate various scenarios (follow-up appointments, possible complications, patient’s wishes, the actual process of dying, and end-of-life decisions) before and as they unfold. The first letters of the three categories are used as an acronym for the ACA-checklis