Center to Advance Palliative Care

Early in our hospital based program's history, we used "Transitions and Life Choices (TLC)," which was also the name of the palliative home care service. Some believed that this name communicated the intent to offer palliative care "upstream," rather than only at end of life. The name avoided the misconceptions of the term "palliative," however it did not communicate the nature of the service to colleagues or patients and families. It also led to confusion about whether the referral was for palliative home care or an inpatient consult.
As the field of palliative care developed, and as others joined our program with different perceptions of the name, we made the decision to use "Palliative Consult Service," to recognize the medical specialty of palliative care, and be consistent with the National Quality Forum and Consensus Guidelines. The name still requires that we explain what palliative care is, how it helps, and address misperceptions of the concept.
Choice of a name is important as others have pointed out, and should reflect the local culture and population ( for example, pediatric versus adult), while allowing continued conversation to educate others about the value and contribution of palliative care.
Lyn Ceronsky
PCLC faculty
Fairview Palliative Care Program