Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Misconceptions about palliative care are common

Kenneth Lin, MD
Physician
August 13, 2014
Share
Tweet
Share

In inpatient settings, family physicians frequently care for patients with progressive, incurable conditions that cause severe pain. Interventions aimed at slowing the progress of a disease often add to patients’ physical distress; therefore, pharmacologic management of pain is a key component of end-of-life care, as outlined in an article in an issue of American Family Physician.

However, as Drs. Timothy Daaleman and Margaret Helton discuss in an accompanying editorial, providing analgesia is only the starting point for effective palliative care:

Palliative care generally begins with diagnosis of a life-limiting disease and initiation of an ongoing conversation on the goals of care and treatment. This often begins in patient-centered medical homes, continues through acute hospitalizations, and may conclude in long-term care facilities. At each point, family physicians may be called on to provide primary palliative care and can expect to encounter nonpharmacologic challenges in managing pain. 

Misconceptions about palliative care are common. For example, many believe that palliative care, like hospice care, cannot be offered to patients who are still pursuing “aggressive” treatments such as chemotherapy for cancer. On the contrary, one of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine’s Choosing Wisely recommendations states, “Don’t delay palliative care for a patient with serious illness who has physical, psychological, social or spiritual distress because they are pursuing disease-directed treatment.”

Palliative care does not necessarily increase patient comfort at the cost of shortening life; in a randomized trial of patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer, patients assigned to early palliative care not only experienced better quality of life and fewer symptoms of depression than patients receiving standard care, they actually lived more than two months longer.

The recent announcement by a large health insurance company in the Pacific Northwest that it will prioritize palliative care by training physicians and caregivers about having appropriate end-of-life conversations; and pay for previously unreimbursed home health services and counseling about advanced directive planning suggests that policymakers are finally recognizing the value of improving the availability of palliative care to appropriate patients.

What have been your experiences with connecting patients or loved ones to palliative care services?

Kenneth Lin is a family physician who blogs at Common Sense Family Doctor. 

Prev

A letter from a hospitalized patient to a hospital CEO

August 13, 2014 Kevin 18
…
Next

Can we get more from our medical meetings?

August 13, 2014 Kevin 11
…

Tagged as: Palliative Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
A letter from a hospitalized patient to a hospital CEO
Next Post >
Can we get more from our medical meetings?

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Kenneth Lin, MD

  • How to recruit more students into family medicine

    Kenneth Lin, MD
  • When should you prescribe statins for older adults?

    Kenneth Lin, MD
  • Clinical practice guidelines have problems, but they’re not broken

    Kenneth Lin, MD

More in Physician

  • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

    Ryan Nadelson, MD
  • Why enterprise risk management is key to value-based health care success

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Rethinking physician resilience for sustainable well-being

    Sarah Webber, MD
  • How shared language saved a patient from isolation

    Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD
  • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

    Curtis G. Graham, MD
  • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why hospital jobs are failing physicians: burnout, pay, and lost autonomy

      Justin Nabity, CFP | Finance
    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why telling kids to eat less and move more fails to address obesity

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
    • Why enterprise risk management is key to value-based health care success

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Rethinking physician resilience for sustainable well-being

      Sarah Webber, MD | Physician
    • How shared language saved a patient from isolation

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why hospital jobs are failing physicians: burnout, pay, and lost autonomy

      Justin Nabity, CFP | Finance
    • Why so many doctors secretly feel like imposters

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • Why telling kids to eat less and move more fails to address obesity

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
    • Why enterprise risk management is key to value-based health care success

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Rethinking physician resilience for sustainable well-being

      Sarah Webber, MD | Physician
    • How shared language saved a patient from isolation

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Misconceptions about palliative care are common
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...