 | Recognize the importance of providing interdisciplinary palliative
care for patients with disabling chronic or life-limiting illness to
prevent and relieve suffering and to support the best possible quality of
life for these patients and their families. |
| Reaffirm the Council on Medical Education’s support of palliative
medicine as a medical subspecialty with certification recognized by the
American Board of Medical Specialties, and also encourage the inclusion of
palliative medicine in the core curriculum of undergraduate and graduate
medical education. |
| Encourage the training of all allied health workers in the use of
palliative care techniques and interdisciplinary team care. |
| Encourage all physicians to become skilled in palliative medicine
techniques and to become familiar with the use of current coding methods
for reimbursement of hospice and palliative care services. |
| Advocate for reimbursement of Evaluation and Management (E/M) codes
reflecting prolonged time spent on patients’ care outside of the
face-to-face encounter in non-hospital settings. |
| Encourage research in the field of palliative medicine to improve
treatment of unpleasant symptoms that affect quality of life for patients
with advanced, chronic illness. |
| Continue its efforts in producing and distributing clinical CME
programs on pain management and end- of-life care. |
| Encourage all physicians to be knowledgeable about patient eligibility
criteria for hospice care and base hospice referrals on their best
clinical judgment, realizing that prognostication is an inexact science. |
