The American health system is focused on curing, and spends billions of dollars on "treatment" at the end of life. But now more than 40 million adult Americans suffer with life-altering, chronic health conditions. They and their families are often more concerned with pain management, comfort care, and coordinating care as they transition from setting to setting. It is only in the last days of life, if at all, that most enter a hospice care program usually paid for by Medicare or Medicaid.
As people live longer with grave chronic illness, are they getting quality care? Where in the delivery of care spectrum should palliative care come into play? Who should pay? Medicare limits the hospice benefit to those judged to have no more than six months to live; does that rule make sense? Is there adequate staffing to provide quality end-of-life care in hospitals, nursing homes or at home? Are patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias being left out of this picture?
To address these and related questions, the Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are sponsoring a June 8 luncheon briefing. Panelists will be:
Joan Teno, M.D., professor of community health and medicine and associate director of the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research at the Brown University Medical School. Both as a researcher and clinician, Dr. Teno has devoted her career to understanding how to measure and improve the quality of end-of-life care for vulnerable populations.
Diane Meier, M.D., director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, a national organization devoted to increasing the number and quality of palliative care programs in the United States. Also director of the Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute; Catherine Gaisman Professor of Medical Ethics and professor of geriatrics and internal medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Brad Stuart, M.D., a general internist and senior medical director of Sutter VNA (Visiting Nurse Association) and Hospice, which provides home care and hospice services throughout much of Northern California. Dr. Stuart was just voted Physician of the Year by the California State Home Care Organization
Steve McConnell, vice president for advocacy and public policy at the Alzheimer's Association. In addition to his public policy role, he has directed the association's program services division and in 2002 served as interim president and CEO.
This panel of experts will address questions related to end-of-life treatment at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The event is June 8, from 12:15-2 p.m.
Register for the event by noon on Wednesday, June 6, by calling 202-789-2300 or visting the event's Web site.