It is very common for health care professionals to want to shy away from those difficult conversations with patients when caring for them throughout their cancer treatment.
At the eighth annual Chicago Supportive Oncology Conference, Thomas J. Smith, M.D., Director of Palliative Care for Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Hopkins’ Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, offered practical insight on the economics of integrating palliative care.
When it comes to discussing patient preferences for end-of-life and treatment decisions, Dr. Smith said: "People do want this information; it won't make [them] depressed; it won’t take away their hope; it won’t make them die sooner. We can give realistic forecasts for survival. It is always culturally appropriate to ask, 'How much do you know about your illness?' "
Is it possible to provide the best in care while "bending the cost curve" by having open and honest discussions with your patients? Absolutely, said Dr. Smith, because "we are asking [them] what is important to them." (See the commentary, "Talking with Patients about Dying,” by Dr. Smith and Dan L. Longo, M.D.; N Engl J Med 2012;367:1651-2.)