Palliative Care
Definition of Palliative Care
Palliative care and the medical sub-specialty of palliative medicine, is specialized medical care for people living with advanced illness. Palliative care teams treat people living with serious, complex and chronic illnesses such as cancer, cardiac disease such as congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), kidney failure, and many neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington disease, Alzheimer disease and other dementias, Parkinson disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), etc.
Palliative care is provided by a team of palliative care doctors, nurses, social workers and others who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided along with curative treatment.
Palliative care sees the person beyond the disease. It is a fundamental shift in focus for health care delivery.
Palliative care is treatment of the symptoms and stress of serious illness, including:
- Anxiety
- Delirium
- Pain
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty swallowing
- Problems with sleep
It can also help you deal with the side effects of the medical treatments you're receiving.
Hospice care, end-of-life care, or respite care always includes palliative care.
Palliative Care Improves Quality of Life
People facing serious illness benefit from palliative care at any stage of their illness. Therefore, palliative care should be considered a key component of medical care along with all other appropriate treatments.
Palliative care teams improve quality and support the primary physician, the patient and the family by providing:
- Time to devote to intensive family meetings and patient/family communication.
- Communication and support for resolving family/patient/physician questions concerning goals of care.
- Expertise in managing complex physical and emotional symptoms
- Coordination of care transitions across health care settings.
Palliative care teams also help improve:
- Patient and family satisfaction with their overall medical treatment, physicians and the health care team.
- HCAHPS standards by contributing to reduced readmissions and hospital mortality.
Palliative care helps patients and families understand the nature of their illness and make timely, informed decisions about their care. They report improved quality of life and ability to function as well as an improved understanding of their options and feeling back in control of their lives.