Open AccessFuture of palliative medicine
Author(s) -
Sushma Bhatnagar,
Mayank Gupta
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
indian journal of palliative care/indian journal of palliative care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.395
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1998-3735
pISSN - 0973-1075
DOI - 10.4103/0973-1075.150201
Subject(s) - palliative care , multidisciplinary approach , business , politics , medicine , nursing , political science , law
A 'need-supply' and 'requirement-distribution mismatch' along with a continuingneed explosion are the biggest hurdles faced by palliative medicine today. It is the need of the hour to provide an unbiased, equitable and evidence-based palliative care to those in need irrespective of the diagnosis, prognosis, social and economic status or geographical location. Palliative care as a fundamental human right, ensuring provision throughout the illness spectrum, global as well as region-specific capacity building, uniform availability of essential drugs at an affordable price, a multidisciplinary team approachand caregiver-support are some of the achievable goals for the future. This supplanted with a strong political commitment, professional dedication and 'public-private partnerships' are necessaryto tackle the existing hurdles and the exponentially increasing future need. For effectively going ahead it is of utmost importance to integrate palliative medicine into medical education, healthcare system and societal framework.