See prior post on Diane Meier and importance of language.
So if you use the term supportive care you get more consults for your pall care program. There is a lot of misperception and bias associated with various names like pall care/hospice care/supportive care/comfort care.
Yet the name that stuck with the public is death panel.
Life panel is one alternative to rebrand the death panel label, but does it really do the trick, or does it just remind us of Death Panel?
What clever title do you prefer to trump death panel??????
Paul Tatum
“What’s in a name” is an interesting question indeed. In the last couple of years, patients’ and families’ responses to the term palliative care physician have transitiond from “Palliative care, what’s that?” to “Isn’t that like hospice … for people who are dying?” (For a good discussion of the terms supportive care vs. palliative care, see: http://www.pallimed.org/2009/03/supportive-vs-palliative-care-whats-in.html ) Either way, our challenge is to convey that our focus is on living and quality of life for whatever time remains, rather than a focus on death & dying.
Not sure what to do about the label. Ira made a great point this morning. He said that we should be identified as the advocates for life.