Dementia and Palliative Care
Great article in the Clinical Geriatrics journal on dementia and palliative care:
“Palliative care at the end of life is an interdisciplinary approach that applies a treatment philosophy of “coping,” rather than “curing,” for patients with an advanced or terminal illness. Despite shifting the focus away from finding a cure, the palliative approach does not exclude all disease-modifying therapies. In fact, the palliative continuum of care balances disease-modifying and palliative treatments based on an individualized treatment plan …
“When treating serious medical conditions in patients with dementia, physicians often find themselves in conflict with family surrogate decision makers regarding the ethics of providing versus withholding intensive treatments for their dependent relative. Providing education, access to counseling, and spiritual support for families is part of the palliative care approach, and ideally a palliative care team would handle these complex and often emotional discussions with families.”
