Health Reform And Palliative Care - 2017 Update

Course overview

Palliative care and hospice services that involve a whole interdisciplinary team approach aimed at improving patient-centered and quality of life outcomes are based on patient prognosis as well as patient and family preferences for treatment. Such an approach helps to avoid unnecessary health costs and improves patient and family satisfaction in services rendered. The current literature suggests that the shifting paradigm of palliative and hospice care away from prior medical models for end of life care have led to improved outcomes and even prolonged life for palliative care patients. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 had an important impact on the availability of palliative care services, creating new processes for palliative team members to improve services to patients and families needing services.