title: Symptom Control at the End of Life.
abstract: Symptom control at the end of life is an identified ongoing gap in end-of-life care. Increased demand for high-quality symptom control; limited supply of specialty trained clinicians; lack of consistent high-quality evidence-based interventions; and education deficits among clinicians, patients, and families in end-of-life processes contribute to this gap. High-value end-of-life care is centered on high-quality communication about goals of care. This article reviews primary palliative care concepts of communication and symptom control to provide a framework for primary care physicians to use in the care of patients at the end of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Center of Excellence in Palliative Medicine, Palliative Care, Penn State MS Hershey Medical Center, Mail Code H106, PO Box 850, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033-0850, USA. Electronic address: mkreher@hmc.psu.edu.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kreher
mesh_terms: D000855:Anorexia / Q000628:therapy; D001007:Anxiety / Q000188:drug therapy; D002100:Cachexia / Q000628:therapy; D003142:Communication; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000628:therapy; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D009325:Nausea / Q000188:drug therapy; D059408:Pain Management; D010166:Palliative Care; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D029181:Spirituality; D013727:Terminal Care; D014839:Vomiting / Q000188:drug therapy
keywords: Communication; End of life; Evidence; Primary palliative care; Symptoms