Palliative care as a quality improvement strategy for advanced, chronic illness.

Palliative care is medical care that provides relief from suffering and support for the best possible quality of life for patients facing advanced chronic illness and for their families. Healthcare organizations use palliative care to improve quality of care, because it is an effective approach to relieving pain, discomfort, and stress; improving patient and family satisfaction; improving continuity and reducing fragmentation of care delivery; and contributing to efficient and effective use of healthcare resources. As a result of these outcomes, palliative care programs help hospitals meet pain management and other quality accreditation standards. This article summarizes the data, provides case examples of the effect of palliative care, and identifies resources for implementing programs.