Patients fare better when they get palliative care sooner, not later

Patients fare better when they get palliative care sooner, not later
Scientific American; by Lydia Denworth; 5/14/24
Supportive care is often started late in an illness, but that may not be the best way. I was happy to have the help but wished it had been available earlier. I’m not alone in that. Evidence of the benefits of palliative care continues to grow. For people with advanced illnesses, it helps to control physical symptoms such as pain and shortness of breath. It ­addresses mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. And it can reduce unnecessary trips to the hospital. But barriers to access persist—especially a lack of providers. As a result, palliative care is too often offered late, when “the opportunity to benefit is limited,” says physician Kate Courtright of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.