Palliative care assessment: what are we looking for?

Rosenfeld K. Palliative care assessment: what are we looking for? Gastroenterology clinics of North America. 2006 Mar 1; 35(1):23-39.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• IIR 02-221 – Health Related Quality of Life in VA Patients with Intestinal Stoma

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Abstract:

Patients who have advanced illness present unique challenges to the specialist physician. Gastroenterologic care of this group of patients has changed substantially over the past 2 decades, with diagnostic and therapeutic procedures often supplanting the more communication-based aspects of care. At the same time,given the range of patients' palliative needs and the increasingly important role of the gastroenterologist in their overall care, the physician has a responsibility to develop basic competencies in palliative medical practice. Skill in palliative assessment can help the physician assure that care remains finely attuned to the goals, needs, and priorities of the patient and family. Acquiring and applying palliative care skills will, as a result, lead to both better outcomes for patients and families and a fully satisfying professional experience for the physician.