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Table 2 Format for extracting data out of the patient files

From: Screening with the double surprise question to predict deterioration and death: an explorative study

Consultations GP

Consultations at practice, also for small surgery.

Telephonic consultations GP

Telephonic consultations or mail contact with patient or caregiver/family, not regarding practicalities such as faxing medical data, or only to inform about lab results. Also: A reaction from the GP at a medical question from the patient, asked by telephone to the assistant.

Home visits GP

Home visits of the GP.

Consultations practice nurse

Consultations, telephonic consultations, home visits, mail contact and reactions to questions from the patient asked to the assistant, by the somatic and psychological practice nurse or the specialized nurse, not regarding practicalities, or only to inform about lab results.

Consultations practice assistant

Consultations, telephonic consultations, home visits, mail contact and reactions to questions from the patient, not regarding practicalities such as faxing medical data or to repeat medication recipes, or only to inform about lab results. Also for diagnostic tests, wound controls and small surgery. If the (telephonic) consultation of the assistant was followed by a consultation or home visit of the GP, only the latter was counted.

Quality of palliative care and ACP

Everything regarding the aspects of palliative care and ACP, noted in the patient file by the GP, the assistant, the practice nurse or the specialized nurse.

If a will statement was uploaded into the patient file, any ACP directives that it contained were counted.

Dimensions:

Somatic: symptoms, complaints, general health

Psychological: fear, depressed mood, emotions, anger, denial, anxiety, worries

Social: social contacts, tensions between patient and loved ones or care providers, financial worries, leaving loved ones when dying, saying goodbyes

Existential: things that occupy someone, balance of life, questions regarding life and death, preparing for dying, a wish to die, feeling powerless or dependant, hope, faith

Home care

If anywhere during the year, home care was given, it was counted as ‘yes’.

Diseases

Also diseases that were diagnosed before the screening with the SQs were counted.

Cancer: only when active disease or active treatment

Cardiovascular disease: all cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, cardiovascular incidents and vascular disease.

  1. Characteristics or outcomes not mentioned here were unambiguous to extract