The importance of the interdisciplinary team in running palliative care services in the community

To provide palliative care is not possible without a team. This model of work organization is crucial to achieving the best outcomes in several human dimensions. It is not easy to work in this way. Even so, it is challenging and involves the effort of all members, taking, also, into account the ethical issues, which are engaging in this kind of care delivery model. Throughout this chapter, we will focus on the several points and problems of working as a team: (1) constitution and building a team; (2) challenges, advantages, vulnerabilities, and difficulties; (3) model of work, interdisciplinarity, and leadership; (4) acceptance of patient, family, and society as team members; (5) ethical issues like autonomy, free expression, and working together; and, finally, (6) the team self-care to avoid the burnout and the compassion fatigue and, simultaneously, to increase the compassion satisfaction. Across these several topics, excellent and active communication between and within the team members (including patients, family, and society) acts as the best foundation of this model of work and the only one that allows the achievement of the outcomes that needed to be achieved, by the home palliative care teams.