Background and Objectives”
“Most care for patients with serious life-threatening chronic illness or conditions occurs in ambulatory settings. Care for these patients can be complex, as they often face high symptom burden and decreased quality of life. Research has shown that patients and caregivers appreciate the integration of serious illness care into primary care.1,2 Palliative care is defined as “care, services, or programs for patients with serious life-threatening illness and their caregivers, with the primary intent of relieving suffering and improving health-related quality of life, including dimensions of physical, psychological/ emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.”3 Importantly, palliative care approaches are not based on prognosis and can be beneficial throughout the course of serious illness, not just at the end of life. Populations with serious life-threatening chronic illness of key interest for palliative care include, but are not limited to, those with advanced heart failure (New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV), advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria III or IV), end-stage renal disease (on dialysis or choosing not to have dialysis and age 75 or older), and those with frailty or multiple serious chronic conditions.4 Cancer is also a key area of interest for palliative care, but given the large existing research base and existing systematic reviews about integrating palliative care into ambulatory oncology, this review will focus on other illnesses and conditions where more insights are needed.
https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/webform/products/palliative-care-integration/submit-sead
Filed under: General Problems
Palliative Care Restored (that formerly included opiate severe pain control) as a means of restoring Opiate pain control may still encounter the same road blocks that severe pain sufferers are having now. Not to mention how the definition of Palliative Care has literally been lost and now invariably ‘means’ “end of life” to those with decision making powers. Just with all the liability in the air now for the false narrative about Opiate prescribing, any ‘alternative’ will be embraced before opiates soon get a green light, in or outside of Palliative Care. We need the opiates back separately and first it seems during this horrifying chapter in American Medical Practice.