Why Are Professional Associations from Other Specialties Championing Palliative Care?

When I first came to CAPC in 2013, a major focus in our field was demonstrating the value of palliative care to potential referrers from other specialties. Many palliative care teams struggled to generate consults and find their footing in the clinical culture of their organizations.

Fast forward to 2026. The American Cancer Society, American Thoracic Society, National Kidney Foundation, American College of Surgeons, and other associations have all partnered with CAPC to bring palliative care awareness and education to their audiences. Their strategies range from making the case for collaboration with specialty palliative care teams to promoting palliative care skills-building among their clinical audiences. And all this investment and activity reflect a shared recognition that palliative care improves care quality for people living with serious illness and their caregivers.

In just a little over a decade, palliative care went from 'looking through the window' to sitting at the table with colleagues across the health care system as a valued partner. What changed?

Culture change happens when trusted messengers make the case, and in our field this phenomenon has been transformative. Many of our field’s leaders have gone on to assume organizational leadership roles, such as Nathan Goldstein, MD, who has served as chair of the Department of Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth since 2023. As a health system leader, Nate is positioned to articulate and address the needs of people with serious illness served across Dartmouth, and to facilitate stronger integration of their palliative care teams into organizational operations and culture.

In other cases, leaders in our field wear two clinical hats and champion palliative care in another clinical community. Over time and with strategic effort, these palliative care ambassadors have generated attention, understanding, and demand for palliative care. Lynn Reinke, ANP-BC, ATSF, FAAN, FPCN, PhD; Don Sullivan, MD, MA, MCR, ATSF; and Anand Iyer, MD, MSPH have established a palliative care working group under the Aging Special Interest Group at the American Thoracic Society (ATS). They have applied their understanding of how change happens in the pulmonary critical care field, first publishing a formal ATS policy statement on the need for early integration of palliative care for people with respiratory diseases, and later a report on the need for primary palliative care competencies for all clinicians caring for this population. Per Dr. Sullivan, "We recognized early on that patients with serious respiratory illness and their families needed more than excellent pulmonary care—they needed comprehensive support. That realization led us to believe pulmonary specialists should be part of the solution as integral members of an interprofessional palliative care team."

Today, the group continues to advocate for and educate on palliative care, developing symposia and other educational sessions for attendees at the annual ATS international conference, and offering free palliative care continuing education to its 30,000 members around the world. Says Dr. Iyer, “As pulmonary clinicians, we manage some of the most symptom-burdened and high-stakes illnesses in medicine. These courses give pulmonary clinicians practical palliative care skills we can use immediately—to understand the breadth of palliative care, improve symptoms, strengthen conversations, and deliver care that truly aligns with what matters to our patients and their families.”

The American Cancer Society (ACS) named Arif Kamal, MD, MBA, MHS, FACP, FAAHPM, FASCO, as its first-ever Chief Patient Officer in 2022 with a mandate to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families by accelerating ACS’ patient-facing activities. Double-boarded in palliative medicine and hematology/oncology, Dr. Kamal has not only prioritized palliative and supportive care across his portfolio but also positioned ACS as an active player and partner in our field by joining the National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care, the National Academy of Medicine Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness, and the Biller Family Foundation “Together for Supportive Cancer Care” coalition.

These partnerships at the national level are a clear signal to both the palliative care and oncology communities that collaboration is critical to the lived experiences of people with cancer and their families, and that ACS supports this collaboration. In recent years, ACS has sponsored a competitive opportunity for cancer practices to join a CAPC learning community that provides education and support to advance the integration of specialty palliative care and to promote palliative care skills-building among oncology clinicians. “We have over 20 clinical trials or large studies that establish integration into usual oncology care as standard of care,” says Dr. Kamal. "It’s time to move from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’, and ACS wants to lead that push on behalf of the families we serve.”

When the American College of Surgeons partnered with The John A. Hartford Foundation to launch the Geriatric Surgery Verification (GSV) program several years ago, palliative care leaders were on it's strategic advisory committee from day one. Why? The GSV leadership team knows that surgery presents particular risks for older adults, and that clarifying patients' goals of care, coordinating with and supporting family caregivers, and managing symptoms are critical to successful surgical outcomes for patients and for organizations. Not only did palliative care experts participate in developing GSV standards, but the American College of Surgeons now also provides access to palliative care education for GSV teams across the country.

More than two decades ago, a dedicated group of nephrology clinicians recognized the compelling need for better communication and symptom management for patients with advanced kidney disease. They published clinical practice guidelines, Shared Decision-Making in the Appropriate Initiation of and Withdrawal from Dialysis, which were updated in 2010. These guidelines include a chapter on the role of specialty palliative care in kidney care.

Despite this groundbreaking work, leaders at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) knew there were still major gaps in awareness and education among the nephrology community about how to address patients’ palliative care needs. To spread the word and help their audience better understand the need and the benefits of palliative care, NKF and the Coalition for Supportive Kidney Care teamed up with CAPC to develop:

• A comprehensive learning pathway for nephrology clinicians, covering topics such as the management of fatigue and pruritus
• Publication and dissemination of The Case for Palliative Care in Kidney Care
• Collaborative comments on CMMI kidney models

As Joseph Vassalotti, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the National Kidney Foundation says, “People living with advanced kidney disease face a high symptom burden, including pain, fatigue, and itch, that is often undertreated. This highlights an opportunity for nephrology and palliative care professionals to collaborate in shared decision-making, incorporating each patient's goals, values, and preferences into symptom management and treatment planning.”

Twenty years ago, clinicians in training were unlikely to see palliative care in action outside of major academic centers that were early adopters. Today, with 84% of U.S. hospitals reporting a palliative care service, clinicians are much more likely to see and understand the benefits of palliative care as they begin their health care careers. We build a health care system of palliative care champions when we demonstrate clinical excellence to a new generation of health professionals.

These achievements didn’t happen on their own. They are the result of excellence in palliative care delivery, a growing evidence base, and strategic actions taken by leaders in our field. A key takeaway for us all, regardless of our job titles or professions, is that every instance of clinical collaboration is an opportunity to be ambassadors. The good impression we make on colleagues and patients pays dividends in professional and public awareness and, down the road, can lead to meaningful action both inside and outside of our specialty.