CAPC Releases New Position Statement: Expanding Screening for Unmet Palliative Needs

The burdens of living with a serious illness can extend far beyond medical symptoms. Patients and caregivers often face physical, emotional, and financial challenges, many of which can be mitigated if identified early.

A new position statement from CAPC makes the case to payers and policymakers for expanding screening requirements and processes to identify unmet palliative needs. Unmanaged symptoms like pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression affect more than half of patients in some populations, while over one-third of caregivers report high emotional stress. Left unaddressed, these symptoms and stresses not only affect patient quality of life, they contribute to avoidable hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and higher health care costs.

Read CAPC’s new position statement to learn how health care organizations, policymakers, and payers can standardize screening to better support patients and caregivers.