“If You’re In, then I’m Out”
March 4, 2013 | 
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"If you're in, then I'm out."
I see this routinely in the charts of patients referred to our outpatient palliative care program:
“Will defer further outreach and follow-up as patient has been referred to palliative care.”
“Patient to be followed by home palliative care, so no further follow-up needed.”
“Patient interested in hospice care, but will defer discussion to palliative care.”
A few days ago, a primary care RN told me, “if you’re in, then I’m out.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in nursing, Opinions, Palliative Clinic, Patient Centered Care, Uncategorized | 
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Pain “management” means…..what?
A patient's son tell JPM Panelist Kennan Moore the following when offered palliative care for his seriously ill father “the support you’re describing sounds wonderful, but Dad is still able to sit outside with Mom on the patio, go to church, and bathe and dress himself. He still enjoys his life and is not ready to be bedridden and our family supports this goal.”
Where is the knowledge gap here and how can we bridge it? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Pain, Patient Centered Care, Quality of life, Reflective practice, Social Work | Comments Closed
The Medical System’s Quarterback
My town’s football team has a new, talented, high-profile (and very expensive) quarterback. Expectations and hopes are very high for his skill and leadership ability –a lot of pressure on one person!
In a recent Time magazine online article about the “feverish” growth of hospital palliative care programs, Read the rest of this entry »
Cancer Survivorship: Does Palliative Care Have a Role?
How can we best support post-treatment cancer survivors who still report symptoms such as chronic pain and anxiety but no longer have a terminal diagnosis? What is the role of palliative care in this setting? Read the rest of this entry »
Towards a Broader Definition of Healing
For many patients, healing refers ultimately to cure. Palliative care supports patients on this journey, but we also recognize that as a person approaches the end of life, healing can shift from cure to represent not only relief from pain or nausea, but an opportunity to reconcile families, bring resolution to old hurts or unmet expectations. Read the rest of this entry »
CLAS and Culturally Competent End of Life Care
In 2001, the Department of Human Services/Office of Minority Health issued National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services. Read the rest of this entry »
Palli-What?
We can adjust our language about palliative care , but what about the term itself? Do you ever find yourself defining it to patients by what it is not (hospice) rather than what it is? Read the rest of this entry »
Self-Care to Celebrate
Some things can make the lines, to-die-for sales and sweet treats insignificant and turn the celebrations into questions such as “why is this happening to me?” What if you find out the weekend before Thanksgiving that you have ALS? What if you have metastatic cancer and are going through a toxic treatment regime right now and you don’t know what the future holds? Read the rest of this entry »
Palliative Care in LA Times
LA Times columnist Steve Lopez profiles a gentleman with end-stage cancer who, along with his family, is receiving palliative care support at home–”Not Ready To Die, But Prepared”. In this December 4th piece, Mr. Lopez also references some palliative care research, health care policy implications and questions why palliative care and hospice are often not positively represented in political discourse on these subjects.
While at the LA times site, its also worth reading Mr. Lopez’s other, more personal piece, “When Death is Certain, but Dignity is Not.” In response to his story, many readers have responded with their own.
Posted in Cancer, Death, Dying, Geriatrics, Health Policy, Media, Patient Centered Care, Policy, Quality of life | 
Tags: palliative care, Patient centered care | Comments Closed
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