Clinical Protocol and Implementing PCOC

Clinical Protocol

Central to the PCOC outcomes program is a framework and protocol for routine clinical assessment and response.  There are three key resources that help with this.  the Guide to implement, embed and sustain the PCOC program, PCOC's assessment and response protocol and PCOC's palliative care clinical manual.

 These resources:

  • are applicable in any setting of care where palliative care is delivered, although a specific clinical manual is available for long-term care settings, such as residential aged care;
  • create a clinical language via validated assessment tools;
  • support consistency in responding to identified needs by recommending actions for each assessment tool;
  • help ensure healthcare professionals have access to consistent information to plan and deliver care.

palCentre for PCOC

palCentre is a new data entry software, customised for use by PCOC services.

palCentre allows services to enter data for analysis and reporting and promotes consistent terminology, processes and protocols among services participating in PCOC.

palCentre features include: 

  • a user-friendly interface for entering patient and assessment information
  • printable reports to track the patient’s journey
  • a streamlined process of data extraction and submission to the Secured Online Submission platform
  • the ability to review patients currently under the care of the service

Access the palCentre User Guide

Implementing PCOC: a guide for services

This resource provides step-by-step guidance to assist palliative care services to develop a plan for implementing PCOC, or to monitor and evaluate progress and identify areas for improvement. It also includes a readiness assessment.

Download 'Implementing PCOC: a guide for services (PDF: 1,137 KB)

PCOC's palliative care clinical manual

PCOC’s palliative care clinical manual is designed for palliative care healthcare professionals. It aims to help embed the use of the PCOC assessment tools and data items into routine clinical practice. Embedding PCOC into routine clinical practice is key. This is because PCOC can help drive improvements and shape models of care. The manual includes: definitions (assessment tools and data items), forms for palliative care assessment, and information on the PCOC benchmarks and outcome measures.

Download the PCOC Palliative Care Clinical Manual (PDF: 2,017 KB)


© PCOC UOW 2020. The intellectual property associated with a suite of resources on this website is owned by the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC), University of Wollongong. PCOC has placed resources in the public domain and is happy for others to use them without charge, modification or development. These resources cannot be modified or developed without the consent of the University.

PCOC is a national palliative care project funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.