Interaction of palliative care and primary care.
Primary care physicians are often the first medical providers patients seek out, and are in an excellent position to provide primary palliative care. Primary palliative care encompasses basic skills including basic evaluation and management of symptoms and discussions about goals of care and advance care planning. Specialty palliative care consultation complements primary care by assisting with complex psychosocial-spiritual patient and family situations. This article reviews primary palliative care skill sets and criteria for when to consider referring patients to specialty palliative care and hospice services.
Pain and Palliative Care Service, 10 Center Drive, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Amrita
A
Ghosh
Division of General Internal Medicine, Program in Palliative Care, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street, Blalock 359, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SR, UK.
Elizabeth
E
Dzeng
Pain and Palliative Care Service, 10 Center Drive, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: mok-chung.cheng@nih.gov.
M Jennifer
MJ
Cheng
D032722:Advance Care Planning; D000368:Aged; D003657:Decision Making; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D011788:Quality of Life; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D063189:Symptom Assessment / Q000379:methods
Primary palliative care; Referral; Specialty palliative care