April Health Blog: What is Palliative Care?

15:26 PM by Courtney Fitzgerald

Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for people who have chronic, serious, or advanced medical conditions. It can benefit patients and caregivers at any point while managing the condition, even at the time of diagnosis. 

Palliative care is a team effort involving a combination of nurses, doctors, social workers, therapists, chaplains, pharmacists, and advanced practice providers.

Palliative care vs. hospice care

Palliative care is often confused with hospice. Hospice, or end of life care, is a component of palliative care, but palliative care focuses more broadly on improving life and providing comfort to people of all ages with serious, chronic, and life-threatening illnesses and their care givers.

What are some areas palliative care focuses on?

• Symptom management
• Care techniques 
• Advance care planning
• Pain management

Palliative care can reduce anxiety and depression, improve quality of life, and increase patient and satisfaction of care. If you feel like you or your loved one is ready for palliative care, have this discussion with your doctor, and they can assist you with establishing palliative care.