Society guideline links: COVID-19 – Palliative care

Introduction — This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: COVID-19 – Index of guideline topics".)

International

●European Respiratory Society (ERS): COVID-19 – Guidance on palliative care from an international task force (2020)

●International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG): Recommendations on adapting care for older cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)

United States

●Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC): COVID-19 – Rapid response resources hub

•Hospice and home care COVID-10 crisis planning checklist

•Medication reference for symptom management in the home

•Palliative care referral criteria – COVID-19 context

•Stepwise protocols for crisis symptom management

•Symptom management – COVID-19 prescribing guidance

•Symptom management support for COVID-19 in the nursing home

●National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO): Crisis standards of care in hospice and palliative care emergency management (2020)

United Kingdom

●National Health Service (NHS) Scotland: Scottish palliative care guidelines – COVID-19 guidance (2020, updated 2021)

Japan

●Japan Geriatrics Society (JGS): Consensus statement – "Recommendations for older persons to receive the best medical and long‐term care during the COVID‐19 outbreak –considering the timing of advance care planning implementation" (2020)

Resources for patients — The following links provide resources about COVID-19 for non-clinicians. These resources come from select society and government-sponsored guidelines from several countries and regions around the world.

●[United States] Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC): Information for patients and families about COVID-19 and how to plan ahead

●[United States] National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO): COVID-19 information – Resources for your patients and families

●[United Kingdom] NHS Scotland: Scottish palliative care guidelines – COVID-19 guidance: Signposts to support members of the public through serious illness and death

UpToDate also offers "The Basics" patient education pieces, which are written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate. These are written in plain language, at the 5^th to 6^th grade reading level, and answer the main questions a person is likely to have. (See "Patient education: COVID-19 overview (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 and children (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 and pregnancy (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 vaccines (The Basics)".)