Palliative care improves the quality of life of patients and their families with advanced illness or life-threatening injury. Palliative care prevents and relieves suffering through early identification, thorough assessment and expert treatment of pain and other challenges; physical, psychosocial, and spiritual.
1. The affirmation of life and regard for dying as a normal process
2. The intent to neither hasten nor postpone death
3. Care throughout the continuum of illness in conjunction with curative therapies
4. Availability of interventions early in the course of illness to assist with symptom management or advance care planning
5. The use of an interdisciplinary team approach to address the comprehensive needs of patients and families
a. assessment and management of patient's pain and other distressing symptoms
b. integration of the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient and family care
c. offering a support system to help patients live as fully as possible
d. offering a support system to help the family cope during the patient's illness and in their bereavement
