What type of physician gives palliative treatment

The doctors and nurses you see during your treatment visits may provide some palliative care themselves, such as helping to manage symptoms and side effects like nausea or pain. And, they will continue to help control those problems while you are getting treatment. But they will often refer patients to a team of palliative care specialists. This palliative care "team" typically includes a palliative care doctor who may be board-certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine , a palliative care nurse, social worker, dietitian, patient navigator, and maybe a person with a spiritual role such as a pastoral counselor or chaplain.

Many hospitals and oncology clinics have these teams as part of the services they provide. Skip to main content.

What is palliative medicine? What's the difference between palliative care and hospice care? Who provides palliative care? What does a palliative doctor do that's different from what my other doctors do? Shouldn't all my doctors be concerned with alleviating my suffering and improving my quality of life? If I receive palliative or hospice care, will I still be able to see my personal doctor?

Is it true that once you enter a hospice program, you must stay in hospice care until you die? Is hospice just for the last few days or weeks of life? If I agree to palliative care, does that mean I'm "giving up? How can I find palliative care? Could I become addicted to the medication used for my pain and symptoms?

Primary care doctors can reassure the patient and make them comfortable. Patients should be given hope when it is possible so that they may live the remaining part of their life in good psychological health. The social impact of cancer is considerable and can reach beyond the patient and immediate family. Patients may need support with personal care, advice on employment issues and assistance in securing financial benefits.

GP, being an active member of the community, will be able to help the patient with these needs or direct to relevant services. All such support may be provided informally or formally, in either a planned or reactive manner. The diagnosis of life-threatening disease can lead patient to re-examine their beliefs, whether philosophical, religious or spiritual in nature.

The needs of patients for spiritual support are, however, frequently unrecognized by health and social care professionals, who may feel uncomfortable discussing spiritual issues.

GPs are aware of local community resources for spiritual care. Moreover, they themselves may be able to provide spiritual support to the patient due to the close relationship with the patient. The primary care doctor should also provide emotional support to the family members by offering counseling and supportive psychotherapy.

They need help to face the reality of impending death of their loved ones. The requirement of palliative care resources and hospice programs will continue to increase markedly in the next few decades as a result of the growth of the aging population living with chronic, debilitating, and life-threatening illness and because of increasing clinician interest in effective approaches to the care of such patients. Geriatric population of Sri Lanka in was 6.

Geriatric population is expected to double Thus, the role of GP in palliative care is becoming more significant. Keeping up to date knowledge with latest management techniques regarding physical and psychosocial symptom control and acquiring counseling skills are important for GPs when managing patients who are suffering from a terminal illness.

Some GPs feel uncomfortable when confronted with dying patients because of their perceived inability to keep up to date knowledge about the latest management techniques.

Nonavailability of proper guidelines is another problem encountered by GPs. Therefore, providing palliative care is a challenge for newly practicing GPs because of lack of recommended guidelines as well as the lack of previous experience. Time is a fundamental component of palliative care. Most GPs indicate that time is a barrier to increased involvement in the palliative care of their patients. Nonavailability of medications and equipment are also problems faced by GPs.

Lack of support from a team and specialists is a pitiful situation for family doctors because they have to manage the patient single-handedly, which ideally should be managed by a multidisciplinary team. Coupled with this, changes in the demographics and work patterns of the general practice workforce will lead to difficulties in achieving the goal of home palliative care for people with a terminal illness unless structural initiatives are put in place.

There are several models of palliative care. However, there is no model that fits every organization or institution. Thus, palliative care delivery must be individually integrated into specific care settings. Some of them are;. In Western Australia, the Silver Chain Hospice Care Service provides, for the city of Perth, a multidisciplinary care team comprising doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, volunteers and spiritual and counseling support.

Local GPs who have had additional training in palliative care are usually recruited. In Queensland, the Ipswich Palliative Care Network model incorporates a public inpatient unit, a general practice-run hospice, and domiciliary nursing services.

GPs are expected to provide palliative care, and educate the community to ensure patient care. The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association model this is a model based on national principles and norms of practice. It was developed to guide the process of providing care to patients and families through both the illness and bereavement experiences and the development and function of hospice palliative care organizations.

Palliative care consultants. Physicians and surgeons Your physician or surgeon is a specialist in a particular area of medicine. Different types of physicians or surgeons include: Oncologists — diagnose and treat cancer. Neurologists — diagnose and treat nerve diseases. Respiratory physicians — diagnose and treat lung diseases.

There may be other types of physicians or surgeons that you see. General practitioners Once you leave hospital, or after you have been diagnosed by a physician and if you can still live at home, you will need to see your general practitioner regularly. Your doctor will manage your ongoing care while you can still live in the community. Palliative care consultants Palliative care consultants are medical doctors who have completed specialised training in the care of people living with a life-limiting illness.

Psychiatrists Psychiatrists are medical doctors who have specialist training in mental health conditions. Palliative care nursing Nurses manage most of your ongoing care and treatment while you receive palliative care in a hospital and they can also provide palliative care nursing services to you at home. Allied health professionals in palliative care Allied health professionals are university-educated health practitioners who work as part of your palliative care team.

Types of allied health professionals include: Counsellors. Music therapists. Occupational therapists. Orthotists and prosthetists. Pastoral care workers. Psychologists Social workers. Palliative care volunteers Palliative care volunteers are members of the community or family members who provide their services to people with a life-limiting illness and their families for free. Complementary therapy is known by different terms including: Alternative therapy.

Alternative medicine. Holistic therapy. Traditional medicine.