RT Book, Section A1 Brooten, Justin K. A2 Tintinalli, Judith E. A2 Ma, O. John A2 Yealy, Donald M. A2 Meckler, Garth D. A2 Stapczynski, J. Stephan A2 Cline, David M. A2 Thomas, Stephen H. SR Print(0) ID 1167032001 T1 Palliative Care T2 Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide, 9e YR 2020 FD 2020 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781260019933 LK accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1167032001 RD 2024/04/16 AB The goal of palliative care is to relieve the suffering of patients with serious illness. Regardless of the patient’s prognosis, relief of suffering should be a primary goal for both emergency medicine and palliative care.1Palliative care is defined by specialty advocates as the physical, spiritual, and psychosocial care given by multiple disciplines to patients and their families who are living with life-threatening illness.2 Although these principles are applicable to all stages of a patient’s illness, a palliative care consultation from the ED is generally considered in the context of previously predicted end-of-life care. Hospice care, a branch of palliative care, is a comprehensive program of palliative treatment that is appropriate when patients with chronic, progressive, and eventually fatal illness are determined to have a life expectancy of 6 months or less. Palliative care is patient centered rather than disease centered. It strives to ensure that the patient or his or her (formal or informal) representatives have chosen realistic goals of care after the patient’s diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic options have been considered. This discussion and decision making should take place during a meeting that includes the patient’s healthcare team, surrogate decision maker(s), and those loved ones who are privileged to receive confidential information.