Palliative Care for the Living — More Education is Needed

A new article from The Hill underlines the need for better palliative care education among medical professionals. They point to new legislation for better access to training, new studies showing the need for these services, and anecdotal evidence of the growing issue.

Important legislation under consideration now seeks to expand opportunities for interdisciplinary education, training and research in palliative care. The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is headed to the Senate. This legislation will support educational efforts that inform patients and health-care providers about the benefits of palliative care in supporting individuals with serious illness.

A new study published in BMJ (originally the British Medical Journal) found that 20 percent of patients with cancer have depression and 10 percent have anxiety. Often unnoticed or sometimes ignored, these complications can decrease survival. Click here to read more.