In 2022, EPC adopted a Value-Based Health Care approach to improve community palliative care. An external review of the Allied Health team, which includes social work, massage therapy, music therapy, and volunteer services, highlighted several challenges:
- The number of clients and their care needs were increasing, but funding wasn’t keeping up.
- All clients were offered the same care options, which slowed staff response times and delayed urgent care.
- Clinicians were feeling burnt out due to heavy workloads.
- Long waiting lists meant some clients died before receiving care.
- Teams were working in isolation instead of collaborating.
- Clients wanted fewer staff visits but more information about available care options.
To tackle these issues, the Allied Health team introduced a new model of care over 18 months. The goals were to:
- Ensure clients got the right care, at the right time, from the right clinician, using the right approach.
- Clearly define what specialist palliative care meant for each discipline.
- Create tools to help prioritize care for clients with the greatest need.
- Shift from crisis management to timely, preventive care.
- Build stronger partnerships with clients by involving them in care decisions.
- Develop a sustainable workforce model with shared goals and better teamwork.
- Start identifying tools like Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) to understand client experiences.
This reform created a more responsive, client-focused, and sustainable care system to better meet growing needs.
