Medication access is a key enabler for palliative care. We examined medications prescribed for nursing home residents enrolled into a specialist palliative care program that empowers nursing home (NH) staff in end of life care. Medication use in the last 6 months of life were obtained from chart review and electronic medical records for residents who died between January and June 2022.

A total of 44 residents were cared for from the 250 bedded NH, of which 22 residents with an average length of service of 161.4 days fulfilled criteria. There were 127 different medications used of which 19 were for acute illness (7 out of 19 were oral antibiotics), and 39 were symptom control medications (Fentanyl patches prescribed for 15 patients, injectable fentanyl in 11 patients, oral morphine prescribed in 17 patients, injectable morphine in 4 patients; Injectable hyoscine butylbromide in 13 patients). Of symptom control medications, the largest group of medications were used for controlling pain and breathlessness (14 medications) in 107 instances reflecting the symptomatology in such patients.  

This snapshot of prescribing patterns for frail dying NH patients under palliative care program support sheds light on the medications required to be available in Nursing Homes