Improving End-of-Life Care in The United States Essay

The World Health Organisation (2010) defines palliative care as: An approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with life threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. It is also our duty to support John and his wife`s in their decision for John to die at home, Department of health (2008) patients should have a choice over the care they receive and where.

    At some point in a terminally ill person 's life, there comes a time when all treatment options have been exhausted, and patient comfort is the number one priority. During this process, hospice care comes into play to ensure quality of life of a patient. Pain management and supportive services are provided to anyone who is willing by Medicare, and other government assistance programs, for individuals and families that cannot afford private home care. These services are provided by a trained group of professionals, including; Doctors, Nurses, Counselors, Social workers, Physical therapists, Volunteers and Chaplains. There are different types of hospice

Hospice is a process to end-of-life care and a kind of support facility for terminally ill patients. It provides comforting care, patient-centered care and related services. Comforting care relieves discomfort without improving the patient’s condition or curing his illness. Hospice is extended in a healthcare facility or at home. Its objective is to provide compassionate, emotional, and spiritual care for the dying patient.

Palliative care is a relatively new concept, stemming from the hospice movement of the 1960s. This type of care focuses on the quality of life of its patients at any time in their treatment process. Palliative care is a concept that is often used synonymously with hospice care. Although it can be congregated with hospice care, they are not the same thing. Thus, it can easily be misunderstood. Sherner (2015) explains that both clinicians and people alternate palliative care and hospice. Unfortunately, she says, these people believe that palliative care implies the patient is refusing curative care. The purpose of this analysis is to explore the concept, clarify the meaning, and differentiate the concept of palliative care.

Palliative care (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) is specialized medical care for people with serious illness. It focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses, social workers and other specialists who work together with a patient’s doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided along with curative treatment.

Palliative care is a relatively new concept. Palliative care programs have become more numerous and better utilized since 2000 and continue to grow. It is now accepted that the palliative care model is appropriate for patients with life-limiting illnesses. Chan et al. (2013) stated that the ultimate goal of palliative care is to relieve suffering and to maximize the quality of life for dying patients and their families, regardless of the stage of illness or the need for other medical treatments (p. 133). As life-expectancy increases, there is a growing need for these services. People are living longer with chronic diseases and palliative care services can provide an extra layer of support to patients and their families. Evidence has shown that 13% - 36% of hospital inpatients qualify for palliative care services (Robinson, Gott, & Ingleton, 2014).

A person’s life can end at any age. They can depart quickly or slowly. End of life care, also known as palliative care, is the care of patients that are not only in their final hours or days but the patients with a terminal illness that has become incurable. End of life care takes into mind what the patient desires so it is recommended that they consider an advanced care plan also known as an advance directive and living will. These documents allow the patient to formulate decisions on the future of their care if, at any point, they cannot vocally express themselves.

According to Allen et al. (2012), “millions of people with chronic illnesses endure unrelieved pain, uncontrolled physical symptoms and unresolved psychosocial or spiritual problems.” This issue occurs because palliative care is often considered a form of end-of-life care. Palliative care is a treatment that can be used for patients who suffer from chronic illnesses and diseases while receiving curative treatment. (Horowitz, Grambling & Quill, 2014) purposely states the misconceptions of palliative care and advocated for seriously ill patients that education must bring under control the misconceptions. Some patients do not receive appropriate symptom management because the palliative care treatment needed is often confused with end-of-life care. However, end-of-life care attempts to relieve pain and suffering when a disease is no longer responsive to curative treatment. Pain and suffering could ultimately be controlled or even eliminated through the proper utilization of palliative care. Patients who are not referred to palliative care in a timely manner is more likely to have poor quality of life, uncontrolled symptom management and increased amounts of visits to the emergency room during the disease process. Patients with life limiting illnesses bear the burden of increased discomfort and increased suffering. Nurses experience clinical practice issues and difficulties in the clinical setting during the delivery of comfort and symptom management. These issues

Palliative care is the end of life care that includes a period of time during which an individual copes with his or her declining health from an ultimately terminal illness, through chronic illness (Lubkin & Larsen, 2012).Palliative care seeks to prevent and relieve suffering and to support the best possible quality of life for patients and their families regardless of their stage of disease (Holtz, 2012). Additionally, palliative care preserves a patient’s quality of life and provides respite for their families.

Palliative care helps patients suffering from progressive cancer by improving that person’s quality of life.

Palliative care is special medical care for people with sever end of life diseases. It provides relief for families and patients who are suffering from these diseases and helps them improve their quality of life.

Palliative care focuses particularly on end of life care. It would provide the best support and quality of life in times of pain and suffering for Mr.J, but as well as his family. Palliative care will help discuss different plans of treatment and symptom management related to the cancers Mr.J has developed. Time is inevitable in Mr. J’s circumstance because the cancer is spreading quickly and his mental status is diminishing. This treatment will guide his daughter to make the best decision of care for her father. Her and the health care professionals will work together to determine the best end of life care plan. Palliative care is a specialized team to support and guide every decision. With the palliative care

Today there are now many cases of patients living with “terminal” illnesses, those illnesses that cannot be cured and will eventually kill the patient, but can be managed with medicine. These patients require a special type of care called palliative care, which is defined by CRETO is “a type of care focused on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis (sarah piper).Palliative care is provided by a team of specialists and care providers, and is aimed at controlling suffering, improving the patient’s quality of life, increasing function and assisting with decision-making.

I have always believed that health cannot be optimized through the treatment of disease only. Rather, health should be addressed on a biological, physical, psychological, social, and spiritual continuum. Palliative care addresses an often-overlooked aspect of the patient experience, which is symptom management of their chronic illnesses. Health care professionals tend to treat acute episodes of

* Attention to residents’ transition from active curative care to palliative care (with comfort care and symptom management) requires that care team members provide the resident and their families with sufficient information about the transition process to facilitate decision making. This provision of information can reduce residents’ and families’ concerns and increase their satisfaction regarding the appropriateness of a palliative approach.