[Case report - interprofessional teamwork in palliative care].

Interprofessional teamwork is a characteristic feature of palliative care. Palliative Care is a subspeciality/ discipline in health care that cares for patients with a life threatening illness. The patient determines individual goals and the extent of further treatment. The team supports patients in decision making, practical advice in symptom management and composition of the future care network. The case of a 58-year-old woman suffering from metastastic breast cancer is an extraordinary example of interprofessional teamwork in palliative care. The patient was hospitalized in a palliative care unit with a malignant bowel obstruction. She underwent ileostomy and chemotherapy. She required total parenteral nutrition and was suffering from anorexia-cachexia syndrome. During her stay in the palliative care unit, her condition deteriorated. Subsequently, her needs changed and she requested to leave the hospital for some days to see her daughter's new domicile. It was by the coordinated effort of the interprofessional palliative care team that this last wish got fulfilled and she died peacefully a few days after her return to the palliative care unit.