Comments on: Why we need more palliative care training

By: Christian Sinclair

Christian Sinclair — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:15:34 +0000

Oh and BTW I follow you on Google reader but must have missed this post. Luckily it was featured in this month's Palliative Care Grand Rounds at Geripal.http://www.geripal.org/2010/07/palliative-care-grand-rounds-3-degrees.html">Geripal.;

By: Christian Sinclair

Christian Sinclair — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:14:05 +0000

Great post Dr. Centor. Thanks for highlighting palliative care. It is the rare occurance that a family asks de novo for palliative care/supportive care. Often times they will ask for comfort care, but by the time we get the consult they may have really been put through the medical ringer due to overwhelming clinical inertia. I am meeting with a few key people in pallaitive care in August to discuss how to best present palliative care to the public. Most people get it when they see it, but that will take a long time to reach everyone.

By: Erik

Erik — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:42:52 +0000

More often than not it is the family asking for more care, more chemo, more dialysis, more ICU stays; the patient is too sick to care. We have all been in too many family meetings where relatives tell us that "we don't know God's plan" or something similar.
If we could just explain how ICUs don't change the outcome of teminal illness before the patent codes, perhaps we would do a better job. But since no one gets paid to talk to patients about their illness, and they do get paid to continue to treat (however ineffectively) the problems, the situation will not change.
Anyone remember "death panels?"

By: Tweets that mention Why we need more palliative care training — db's Medical Rants -- Topsy.com

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:30:27 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by AmericanMedicalNews, Robert Centor. Robert Centor said: Medrants: Why we need more palliative care training http://is.gd/d8Qd7 [...]