• Relieve pain and other symptoms that cause suffering for patients, whether the patient plans to continue aggressive treatments, or make a transition to comfort care.
• Improve quality of life for patients and families affected by advanced illness. This is supported by discussions about developing care plans to meet individual needs and revising them as those needs change.” 

The good news, adds Dr. Ogle, is these dual goals of palliative care are achievable. They are also very much connected: successful management of symptoms (such as pain, dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, constipation, anxiety, agitation, and depression) profoundly affects the quality of life as experienced by patients, and their families and caregivers.

“Beyond the use of medications and other medical techniques for symptom relief,” notes Dr. Ogle, “palliative care also addresses patient needs through open and honest communication. This communication provides information about prognosis and treatment options, and assistance with decisions about care.

“These honest discussions need not be frightening or eliminate hope,” adds Dr. Ogle. "Rather, it can empower the patient by being sensitive to individual and cultural circumstances. It can help patients and families redefine the meaning of hope in their lives, in response to changing realities of advanced illness. Goals of care often change as illness progresses, and palliative medicine can assist in the process of setting new goals over time.

“My colleague, Betty Leyrer, RN, MSN, is my chief liaison for patient and family consultations. Our goal is to have our first meeting with the patient and family within 24 hours of the initial consult. Physicians can request a palliative medicine consult by simply writing an order,” says Dr Ogle.

Betty Leyrer coordinates the teamwork needed for success in the PALM service. “The palliative care consult service takes an interdisciplinary approach to providing this support,” says Leyrer. “Dr. Ogle and I work closely with attending physicians, their consultants, nurses, pastoral care, social workers, and others to create a supportive environment for patients and families in which their changing needs and goals of care are met successfully.”