Primary care physician's next frontier: Palliative care
03/06/24 at 03:00 AM
Primary care physician's next frontier: Palliative care
Medscape, by Larry Beresford; 3/5/24
Palliative care, a medical specialty that focuses on clarifying the treatment goals of seriously ill patients, helping with end-of-life planning, and emphasizing pain and symptom management, has been growing in recent years. Already well-established in most US hospitals, it is also expanding in community settings, often as an extension of hospice programs. Now, by adding primary care physicians and practices to their service mix, palliative care groups are better meeting the needs of a neglected — and costly — population of frail elders.