Considering Palliative Care? Four Simple Ways to Get Started
If you or a loved one are living with a serious illness, you may be looking for care that can help relieve symptoms, improve quality of life, and support you and your family. Palliative care does that and more.
Palliative care is specialized medical care that focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness—no matter the diagnosis or stage of illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.
But how do you know if palliative care is right for you? And how do you find a provider near you? Here’s are a few tips to get you started.
1. Talk to Your Doctor and Ask for a Referral
Start by speaking with your doctor, as they’ll be the one to refer you to palliative care. This would be the doctor, such as an oncologist, cardiologist, or neurologist, who diagnosed your serious illness. If they haven’t mentioned palliative care on their own, it’s okay to bring it up and ask if palliative care can help you manage symptoms or improve your quality of life—and ask for a referral.
Tip: If you’re unsure if palliative care is right for you, you can take a quick 5-question quiz about your symptoms, diagnosis, and support needs. Based on your answers, the quiz will determine whether palliative care can help. Remember, you can receive palliative care at any point of your illness.
2. Find a Palliative Care Provider
Once you and your doctor determine if palliative care is right for you, it’s time to find a palliative care provider in your area. If you’re admitted to the hospital, your doctor will ask the hospital’s palliative care team to visit you. If you’re living at home or another place within the community, your doctor will refer you to a palliative care doctor they trust.
If your doctor doesn’t have someone in mind, they can check out the Palliative Care Provider Directory on GetPalliativeCare.org. This directory is searchable by ZIP code and care setting (whether it’s a hospital, office/clinic, home, or nursing home), and includes palliative care programs that have listed themselves.
3. Schedule an Appointment
Once your doctor has a palliative care doctor in mind, they’ll give you a referral. You can go ahead and schedule an appointment and encourage your loved ones to attend. (Palliative care can help them, too!).
Just like any other doctor’s appointment, confirm they’re in-network for you. Since palliative care is a medical subspecialty, it is paid for like any other (such as cardiology). Most insurance covers it, including Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance.
4. Prepare For and Attend Your Appointment
You can expect the palliative care team to spend a lot of time getting to know you and your loved ones during the first visit. Not only will they assess your pain levels and other symptoms, but they’ll ask questions and discuss and explain your treatment options. Most importantly, they’ll ask you about goals so that they can develop a care plan that works best for you. You have time to ask as many questions as you’d like. (Here’s a list of frequently asked questions to get you started!)
We hope that palliative care gives you the extra layer of support that you may feel has been missing all along. Palliative care has helped countless patients and families. With the right support, we know it will help you too!
About GetPalliativeCare.org
GetPalliativeCare.org is an online resource for patients and families that focuses on providing information on palliative care from the point of diagnosis. For more information about palliative care and to see if it’s right for you, visit GetPalliativeCare.org.
EN 
ES