Palliative Care Deserves Physicians' Attention

"Obviously, it's probably one of the most complex topics we could discuss," said Greg Johnson, DO, chief medical officer for Parkview Health, Ft. Wayne, IN, during the panel discussion.  "I also think that when we talk about end-of-life care, we need to approach it with more curiosity and information than with judgment and direction," Johnson says.

Although there were almost no palliative care programs in America a decade ago, about 63% of hospitals with 50 or more beds have a palliative care team, according to the Center to Advance Palliative Care. It is likely that palliative care is going to expand, but it is still largely misunderstood, even among physicians.

For those patients who are weary of dealing with their pain, tired of medical procedures, and who want to live their days as fully as possible, palliative care may be the answer. In cases of people even more seriously ill, and possibly closer to death, hospice may be the correct treatment option. Too often, physicians don't pose the question: Patient, what do you want to do?

Bruce Robinson, MD, MPH, director of the chief of geriatric medicine at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Florida told me how, too often, physicians may articulate their hopes for patients, even when it's a terrible illusion.