Palliative Care Services: Solutions for Better Patient Care and Today's Health Care Delivery Challenges

Palliative care specializes in taking care of patients with serious illness and focuses on providing relief from symptoms, pain and stress in order to improve the quality of life for patients and their families. The care is provided by an interdisciplinary team whose focus is:

• Assessment and treatment of a patient's physical and emotional/spiritual distress
• Communication and decision making with patients and their families to establish achievable
• patient-centered goals of care
• Coordination of transitions of care and support for practical needs of patients and families

Palliative Care Services: Solutions for Better Patient Care and Today's Health Care Delivery Challenges is designed to provide hospital and health care system leaders with the knowledge and resources necessary to understand the benefits and opportunities of providing high-quality palliative care services. Based on 20 years of clinical service development and research to understand the impact of hospital palliative care services, effective palliative care services can:

• Improve patient- and family-centered care and optimize quality of life
• Reduce avoidable patient suffering and distress from physical and psychological symptoms
• Reduce intensive care unit length of stay for complex, seriously ill patients
• Improve discharge planning efficiency by rapid establishment of achievable patient-centered goals and care plans that meet these goals
• Reduce readmissions for patients with serious illness or multiple chronic conditions
• Improve both survival and quality of life in cancer patients co-managed with oncologists in the outpatient setting
• Prevent adverse events and lead to better outcomes, fewer readmissions and shorter hospital stays