In one month, the 55-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital three times for pain and other symptoms resulting from metastatic breast cancer. On the third admission, her physician requested a palliative care consultation.

Enter VITAS Palliative Care SolutionsSM (VPCS). Members of the VPCS team of palliative care experts, including a physician, nurse practitioner, social worker and chaplain, met with the patient and her family.
 
In a wide-ranging two hour meeting, they had a frank discussion of the patient’s condition and of her and her family’s goals and expectations for her care. The talk covered options in pain relief, symptom management and advance care planning. It also included an evaluation of the patient’s needs for emotional and spiritual support.
 
The VPCS physician then made care recommendations to the patient’s physician. VPCS team members will meet with the patient several more times to continue to evaluate the patient’s medical, social and emotional needs.
 
VPCS is a subsidiary of VITAS Healthcare Corporation, which also encompasses VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, the nation’s largest and most progressive hospice care provider. Since its inception in 1978, VITAS has been a pioneer in hospice and palliative care, always finding ways to provide comfort and improve the quality of life for those who suffer chronic pain and other symptoms resulting from life-limiting illness.
 
“Over the years, VITAS recognized that many patients with serious illness or injury could benefit from palliative medicine, before hospice care would be appropriate or desirable,” says Joel Policzer, MD, FAAHPM, national medical director for both VPCS and VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®. “We created VPCS as a separate service for both adults and children. Our consultations help patients and their families identify their goals of care and expectations of how care should continue. We also help primary care teams manage their patients’ pain and other symptoms, as well as provide counseling and spiritual support.”
 
The primary goal of the VPCS team, adds Dr. Policzer, is to provide patients and their families with a forum for the discussion of treatment goals and expectations, and to provide the time, information and expertise they need to make informed decisions—especially when considering treatment options.
 
“In many cases, the palliative care team gives patients and families their first opportunity to assemble together, address questions and concerns, and gain an understanding of the big picture,” explains Dr. Policzer. “Palliative care teams can help patients and families discuss their wishes openly and frankly, draft advance care directives and nominate future decision makers.
 
Palliative care is focused on patients, not diseases, and on improving conditions in the present, notes Dr. Policzer. “It can be very effective,” he says. “Patients undergoing palliative care typically have fewer emergency room visits, shorter hospital stays and improved clinical outcomes. They also express a higher level of satisfaction with their entire healthcare experience.
 
As the U.S. population continues to age, the need for palliative care will grow, concludes Dr. Policzer. “VITAS is creating a continuum of care for patients to make sure that throughout the course of their aging process, patients and families have access to palliative care services,” he says.