Additional information on palliative care The palliative team is made up of the primary can be found on the following websites: physician, specialist(s), nurse, social worker, and chap• Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) has a lain, who work together to provide medical, emotional, Palliative Care Provider Directory and a list of more and spiritual support to the patient and the family. The specific palliative care resources: team may also help the patient and family navigate the www.getpalliativecare.org health care system to ensure that they receive the care • American Academy of Hospice & Palliative they need. Medicine: www.palliativedoctors.org Lyn Ceronsky, director of Palliative Care for • Minnesota Network of Hospice & Palliative Care: Fairview Health System in Minneapolis, encourages www.mnhpc.org patients with serious illnesses and their families to “ask • Veterans Administration: www.va.gov their doctors about palliative care, or request that a palliative care team be involved in their care.” Palliative care teams work to decrease physical symptoms and stress and help Questions to ask palliative care providers the patient make important decisions. Palliative care makes a huge difference in the quality of life for someone who is seriously ill. When someone is considering palliative The New England Journal of Medicine reported on the effeccare, asking the following questions can tiveness of palliative care in a 2010 study of lung cancer patients. help with decision-making: The researchers found that “early palliative care led to significant 1. Who is part of the palliative care team? improvements in both quality of life and mood. As compared with 2. How will palliative care help me and patients receiving standard care, patients receiving early palliative my family? care had less aggressive care at the end of life but longer survival.” 3. How will the palliative care team work The patients lived almost three months longer that those who did with my current physician(s)? not receive palliative care. 4. What is the process to address pain and control symptoms in an emergency? Lack of knowledge among consumers There is a lack of knowledge about palliative care as shown in a survey of Minnesotans conducted in June 2010 for the Minnesota Network of Hospice & Palliative Care. The survey found that 68 percent of survey participants had never heard of palliative care. This percentage closely matches the findings of a national study commissioned and conducted in 2011 by the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). When the researchers defined palliative care, 62 percent said they would be “very likely” to consider it for a loved one who had a serious illness.
Early palliative care led to significant improvements in both quality of life and mood.
What is the difference between palliative care and hospice care?
Palliative care to page 34
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People are often confused by these two terms and wonder how they differ. The primary difference is that each serves a different group of patients. Palliative care is medical care for patients with any serious— but not terminal—illness, at any time during the illness, and may coincide with curative treatment. Hospices serve only the terminally ill and work to ensure that the patient is as comfortable as possible during his or her final days. Health insurance plans usually require separate coverage for hospice care, as does Medicare. The Veterans Administration covers both hospice and palliative care for veterans. The care continuum Palliative care is considered part of a continuum of care; patients can receive palliative care for a serious illness while getting treatment. If their illness become terminal, they can choose to receive palliative care through hospice care.
www.mppub.com NOVEMBER 2011 MINNESOTA HEALTH CARE NEWS
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