AAHA teamed up with the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC) to create the 2016 AAHA/IAAHPC End-of-Life Care Guidelines. A first for the veterinary profession, these groundbreaking guidelines provide practice teams with the framework and tools to develop a comprehensive, collaborative, end-of-life plan and better recognize the needs of patients, clients and team members during this difficult time.
Source: AAHA Press, November 10, 2016.
‘End-of-life decisions are medically, emotionally, and ethically challenging for everyone involved,’ said Brenda Stevens, DVM, DABVP (C/F), co-chair of the task force that authored the guidelines. ‘After the loss of a pet, studies show 30 percent of pet owners experience significant grief and 50 percent will doubt their decision following euthanasia. In addition, team members who work with end-of-life patients and their owners have a higher risk of developing compassion fatigue.’
INSIGHTS: The guidelines provide the latest information to help staff address central issues and perform essential tasks to improve the quality of life for a pet that has entered the final life stage. In addition, these guidelines define the role of each staff member so everyone on the healthcare team can work together to offer the best-quality medical care.
The various guidelines available from AAHA provide all practices with best practices and standards of care. They are available to all animal health pros and the public at aaha.org/guidelines.