How can palliative care deal with overzealous treatment?

Scott A. Murray

Vol 8, No 3 (2009)

Review articles

Published online: 2009-11-02

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How can palliative care deal with overzealous treatment?

Scott A. Murray

Advances in Palliative Medicine 2009;8(3):89-94.

Vol 8, No 3 (2009)

Review articles

Published online: 2009-11-02

Abstract

Palliative Care has an important role to play in preventing overzealous treatment. Active palliative care approach should be applied early in the disease and in all conditions, not only in cancer. Palliative Care specialists should be involved in the support and educating generalists, family members and general public. The holistic approach including the existential issues is able to foster new hope and stop patient and the family to insist on more treatments which may bring more harm than benefit. By gathering evidence through research and audit about the prevalence and costs of such iatrogenic activities, we may and advocate for a redesign of end-of-life care services so that patients can routinely access reliable care.