Learning to switch gears — Steering palliative care into emergency medicine
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Date
2023-09
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
FORUM FOR MEDICAL ETHICS SOCIETY
Abstract
Emergency care is largely seen as synonymous with resuscitation and saving lives. In most of the developing world where Emergency Medicine (EM) is still evolving, the concept of EM palliative care is alien. Provision of palliative care in such settings poses its own challenges in terms of knowledge gaps, socio-cultural barriers, dismal doctor-to-patient ratio with limited time for communication with patients, and lack of established pathways to provide EM palliative care. Integrating the concept of palliative medicine is crucial for expanding the dimension of holistic, value-based, quality emergency care. However, glitches in decision-making processes, especially in high patient volume settings, may lead to inequalities in care provision, based on socio-financial disparities of patients or premature termination of challenging resuscitations. Pertinent, robust, validated screening tools and guides may assist physicians in tackling this ethical dilemma.
Description
Keywords
emergency medicine, palliative care
Citation
Bhat R, Ramaswami A, Aggarwal P. Learning to switch gears — Steering palliative care into emergency medicine. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. 2023 Sep; 8(3): 220-223