The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice Partners with Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. to Provide Increased Access to Palliative Care Resources

Challenging Palliative Care Cases now featured in Palliative Newsletter

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice is partnering with Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., the publishers of The Journal of Palliative Medicine, to include a monthly case-based educational feature in their Briefings e-newsletter.

Palliative care is the prevention and relief of suffering by a specialized interdisciplinary healthcare team that focuses on managing symptoms, relieving pain, and improving quality of life, whatever the diagnosis.

The cases featured in Briefings reflect challenging cases where callers sought the assistance of The Institute's Palliative Medicine PAL-MED CONNECT ® hotline, which is the only active palliative care hotline in the United States. The hotline is a grant-funded service that provides healthcare professionals the opportunity to get information and discuss care options with a palliative medicine specialist from The Institute.

"This California based hotline is gaining attention from healthcare professionals nationwide. Healthcare professionals utilize the hotline when complex symptoms arise. We provide them with information on options for care and evidence-based resources," states Charles von Gunten, MD, PhD, FAAHPM, Provost of The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice.

This partnership provides increased access to information and expertise on palliative care to all healthcare professionals. Patients who benefit from this care include those who are 65+ in the US, estimated at 39.6 million in 2009. This number is expected to grow to be 19% of the population by 2030, based on statistics reported by the Administration on Aging.

"Both of our organizations strive to provide pertinent and timely information to help professionals enhance the care they provide," indicates Helen McNeal, Executive Director of The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice.

As the need for palliative care increases nationwide, these types of partnerships help provide medical professionals with trusted resources to improve whole patient care.

For more information visit www.palliativemed.org.

About The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice

The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice (www.palliativemed.org) is internationally recognized for its excellence in palliative care, education and research. Dedicated to the relief of suffering through the transformation of healthcare, it focuses on discovering, demonstrating, and disseminating palliative care strategies locally, nationally and globally. Home to one of the largest palliative medicine physician fellowship programs in the country, The Institute also provides education to more than 2,000 healthcare students and professionals each year and is home to PAL-MED CONNECT ® (1-877-PAL-MED4), a 24/7 palliative care hotline for physicians, nurse practitioners and clinical pharmacists.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.

Dr. Charles von Gunten

http://www.profnetconnect.com/dr._charles_f._von_gunten_md_phd_faahpm

CONTACT: Melissa DelaCalzada, The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice

(619) 278-6139; [email protected]

SOURCE The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice