Palliative care in the era of health care reform.
Research shows that early access to palliative care can significantly improve the quality of care for patients with chronic and advanced illnesses and reduce the overall costs of care. However, factors such as poor provider reimbursement mechanisms, inadequate formal education and training, workforce shortages, and low provider acceptance and patient engagement have created barriers to the widespread uptake of palliative care. Expanding access to these services requires their integration into new models of payment and delivery, such as Accountable Care Organizations, an overhaul of formal palliative care education and training, and improved messaging about these services to patients and providers.
Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform, The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, Washington, DC 20036, USA. Electronic address: KPatel@brookings.edu.
Kavita
K
Patel
Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform, The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, Washington, DC 20036, USA.
Domitilla
D
Masi
D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy; D003144:Communication Barriers; D018450:Disease Progression; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States
Chronic disease; Health care reform; Palliative care; Payment and delivery systems; Workforce challenges