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Palliative Care

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Geriatric Medicine

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Abstract

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. Focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness and with the goal of improving quality of life for both the patient and family, palliative care is offered at all ages and at any stage of illness. Geriatric medicine practices – already a person-centered, interdisciplinary type of care – overlap greatly in philosophy and care delivery with palliative care. This chapter discusses the palliative care approach and whole patient assessment, advance care planning, specific illness considerations, palliative care settings, and when to consider a separate palliative care consultation. By providing an added layer of support for symptoms and stress related to serious illness, palliative care can greatly enhance the care of older adults.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Katherine Wang & Diane Meier

  2. University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madizon, WI, USA

    Katherine Wang

Authors
  1. Katherine Wang
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  2. Diane Meier
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine Wang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. California Association of Long Term Care Medicine, Newbury Park, CA, USA

    Michael R. Wasserman

  2. Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Debra Bakerjian

  3. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, CO, USA

    Sunny Linnebur

  4. Division of Geriatrics, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Sharon Brangman

  5. Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Matteo Cesari

  6. Section of Geriatric Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, CA, USA

    Sonja Rosen

Section Editor information

  1. Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Deb Bakerjian PhD, APRN, FAAN, FAANP

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Wang, K., Meier, D. (2024). Palliative Care. In: Wasserman, M.R., Bakerjian, D., Linnebur, S., Brangman, S., Cesari, M., Rosen, S. (eds) Geriatric Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74720-6_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74720-6_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-74719-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-74720-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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