What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is medical care for people with chronic and/or serious illness. Care is focused on providing symptom and stress relief. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patients and their loved ones by providing comprehensive, or whole person, care. Palliative care is provided by a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses and other specialists. This teams works together with a patient’s primary doctors in providing an extra layer of supportive care.
Is Palliative Care right for me?
Palliative care may be right for you if you suffer from pain, stress or other symptoms due to a serious illness, regardless of age or stage of illness. Some examples of chronic or serious illnesses include cancer, ALS, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, COVID-19 and more. Palliative care can certainly be impactful when provided along with curative treatment, particularly those which may cause discomfort.
How does Palliative Care work with my insurance and other doctors?
The palliative care team works with other doctors to provide an extra layer of support for you and your loved ones. Palliative care providers focus on the patient’s goals and wishes. We provide expert symptom management and extra time for communication about your condition and treatment options thereby helping patients and their loved ones to navigate the health system. Palliative care is free of cost to you under most insurance plans, including Medicare. Counseling services are an additional fee for caregivers and family members who wish to receive this service.
What can I expect?
With Palliative care, you can expect to have access to ongoing communication from the team and to maximize your ability in carrying on activities of daily life. You can expect relief from symptoms such as anxiety, pain, shortness of breath, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite and sleeplessness. With symptom relief may come an increased ability to go through medical treatments.
Palliative care also assists you in better understanding your condition and treatment choices available to you.