Palliative care is specialized medical care that can provide relief from the stress and symptoms of serious illness. Services such as pain management, care planning, and care management can help people — at any stage of illness — maintain quality of life and avoid unnecessary and often unwanted treatment.
Palliative care helps people with serious illness by reducing symptoms, stress, and hospitalizations — and increasing quality of life
By helping people better manage symptoms and make decisions about their care, research shows that palliative care services can lead to positive outcomes:
Lower service utilization and more cost savings during the last three months of life
37% reduction in Intensive Care Unit admissions
Reduced hospital costs of care
And yet, most people don’t know about or use palliative care
For many people, there is an information gap about what palliative care is and how it can improve quality of life.
Despite the benefits, most individuals with a serious illness do not receive palliative care. Lack of familiarity, discomfort, and stigma can inhibit providers from discussing palliative care and can prevent families and people with serious illness from asking for help.
State policymakers can bridge the information gap about palliative care
States can help educate the public and address misunderstandings about what palliative care is and how to access it.
Share information on palliative care:
Many states share information — often through public health departments or offices on aging — about palliative care, its benefits, and where to get help. These state websites can include culturally sensitive and accessible information, including:
- Resources for people with serious illness and families about what palliative care is and how it can help
- Links to palliative care providers and services
- Information tailored to providers about what palliative care entails, how it can help, and when providers should refer their patients to a palliative care specialist
- Links to state palliative care councils or other outreach information
Encourage hospitals and other providers to educate people who can benefit from palliative care:
STATE EXAMPLES
New Jersey recently passed legislation requiring hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation and other facilities to provide information about palliative care to patients with a serious illness or their families.
Wisconsin notes in its 2020 Tribal Aging and Disability Resource Specialist agreement that specialists should provide information on a variety of topics, including issues around end of life care like palliative care and hospice care.
- Identify patients who could benefit from palliative care
- Provide education to patients Facilitate referral to available services
In Florida, specified health care providers — including primary care physicians and others — must share information and comply with requests for pain management or palliative care from patients as appropriate.
Engage stakeholders and partners to help promote care for people with serious illness
STATE EXAMPLES
A number of states have taken legislative action to create palliative care councils or task forces. These groups are often tasked with developing or reviewing palliative care initiatives within the state, such as:
Conducting surveys to better understand the provision of palliative care services within a state (see Maine’s Palliative Care Survey)
Reporting on a state’s palliative care initiatives and capacity (see Tennessee’s 2019 Annual Report)
Providing recommendations for the improvement of palliative care services (see Maryland’s Workgroup Recommendations)
For more information, view NASHP’s Palliative Care Research Hub.
This resource was made possible with support from:
