A look at access to palliative care in the U.S.

In the article, “Why Some Patients Aren’t Getting Palliative Care,” journalist Michael Ollove looks at some of the barriers as well as some of the work being done to make palliative care available.

Ollove explains, “Palliative care has been shown to increase patients’ satisfaction with the care they receive and to save on medical expenses by reducing the need for hospitalizations and trips to the emergency room. One study of homebound, terminally ill patients with a prognosis of approximately a year or less to live, plus one or more hospital or emergency department visits in the previous year, found that the average cost of care for those receiving palliative care services — $95.30 per day — was less than half the cost for those without palliative care — $212.80.”

Despite growth in the number of hospital-based palliative care programs in the U.S., many people who would benefit from the services and philosophy of care, do not get this care.

California has done much to move forward in terms of making palliative care services more readily available.

Read the full article online.