Busy oncologists may call upon Dr. Grossman’s service to conduct family meetings about care plans. “Patients are very loyal to their oncologists, and they want their oncologists to be supportive of their decisions,” she notes. “I always explain to patients that my consultation was requested or supported by their oncologist. I am not there to cause more barriers; I’m there to have everybody on board and to understand where the patient is. We call everybody in—the social worker, the nurse, chaplaincy staff—because our approach is interdisciplinary and these are the essential members of our team.”
Dr. Grossman believes that hospitalists’ training in teamwork and communications are key to providing a good experience for oncology patients and their families. She is board certified in palliative care, which allows her to bring additional expertise to symptom support, including situations where she can help the dying process be as peaceful as possible—for both patient and family.
The issues important in palliative care—availability to patients, families, and referring physicians, ability to work in teams, and quality of care—dovetail with the primary goals of hospital medicine. Hospitalists’ palliative care services can thrive when they forge strong foundational relationships with their referring colleagues. TH
Gretchen Henkel regularly contributes to The Hospitalist.
References
- Selwyn PA, Rivard M, Kappell D, et al. Palliative care for AIDS at a large urban teaching hospital: program description and preliminary outcomes. J Palliat Med. 2003 Jun;6(3):461-474.
- Ryan A, Carter J, Lucas J, Berger J. You need not make the journey alone: overcoming impediments to providing palliative care in a public urban teaching hospital. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2002 May-June;19(3):171-180.
- The Case for Hospital-Based Palliative Care, published by the Center to Advance Palliative Care. Available online at: www.capc.org/building-a-hospital-based-palliative-care-program/case/support-from-capc/capc_publications/making-the-case.pdf. Last accessed March 22, 2006.
- Pantilat SZ, Rabow MW, Citko J, et al. Evaluating the California Hospital Initiative in Palliative Services. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jan 23;166(2):227-230.