The Palliative and Therapeutic Harmonization Clinic (PATH) is an innovative health care service for older people in Nova Scotia with chronic health conditions.
The PATH Clinic provides assessment and consultation services to help older individuals and their families understand their true health status and outlook for the future.
The goal of the PATH Clinic is to help patients and families learn how to make health care decisions that support patients’ overall health and quality of life.
The PATH Clinic was established to help older people and their families understand their health status and to guide them through the process of making health care decisions that will protect their best interests and quality of life.
The PATH Clinic is for individuals over the age of 65 with multiple chronic health problems including heart failure, kidney disease, dementia and frailty. In most cases, the clinic sees a family member along with the patient.
Why is the PATH important?
As people accumulate health problems, they become frail. This means they have more difficulty recovering from illnesses and injuries than people who are healthier. In fact, some treatments could worsen their overall health status and quality of life. The PATH Clinic helps patients and families understand these issues in relation to their own health status and learn to ask the right questions as new health problems emerge. This way, they can realistically consider the risks and benefits of potential treatments and make wise decisions.
Patients and families have time to reflect on what they are learning after each process and are free to contact the PATH Clinic at any time with questions or concerns.