Palliative Care: Transforming the Care of Serious Illness

Palliative Care is the first book to provide a comprehensiveunderstanding of the new field that is transforming the wayAmericans deal with serious illness.

Diane E. Meier, M.D., one of the field's leaders and a recipientof a MacArthur Foundation "genius award" in 2009, opens the volumewith a sweeping overview of the field. In her essay, Dr. Meierexamines the roots of palliative care, explores the key legal andethical issues, discusses the development of palliative care, andpresents ideas on policies that can improve access to palliativecare.

Dr. Meier's essay is followed by reprints of twenty-five of themost important articles in the field. They range from classicpieces by some of the field's pioneers, such as Eric Cassel, Balfour Mount, and Elizabeth K bler-Ross, to influential newerarticles on topics such as caregiving and cost savings ofpalliative care. The reprints cover a wide range of topicsincluding:

• Why the care of the seriously ill is so important

• Efforts to cope with advanced illness

• Legal and ethical issues

• Pain management

• Cross-cultural issues

• Philosophical perspective

The demand for palliative care has been nothing short ofstunning--largely because of palliative care's positive impacton both the quality and the cost of care provided to seriously illindividuals. By providing a wide-ranging perspective on thisgrowing field, this book will serve as a guide for developingmeaningful approaches that will lead to better health care for allAmericans.