Palliative care: Improving the quality of life of patients

MANILA, Philippines - Continuing to spread the spirit and value of malasakit to its patients, premier health institution Makati Medical Center raises the importance of palliative care, a practice in health care that services patients beyond their necessary medical needs.

Palliative care looks after the psychological, emotional, mental, spiritual, and even the economic well-being of patients, and further guides them through their concerns. “The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life of patients and their families through a holistic approach that does not only deal with the physical aspect of pain,” says Mari Joanne Guerzon-Joson, MD, of MakatiMed’s Department of Medicine.

Typical patients who receive palliative care are those who have chronic conditions, life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, or are undergoing rehabilitation. These are also the patients recommended for MakatiMed’s home care as post-hospitalization service.

Palliative care can start with the interdisciplinary meeting among doctors, the patient, and his family, during discussions of the various approaches that may be taken to best address the condition and situation of the patient. “We bring in the family and whoever else is concerned to the discussion so that they are part of the decision-making, because it’s important for them to understand all their options; and for the patient to have that feeling of being well-supported, as we don’t leave him deciding on his own,” explains Dr. Joson.

What can be challenging though, she remarks, is the discussion of death. “In our culture, it’s still not a welcome topic,” she reveals. “But in keeping with the essence of palliative care, it’s a subject that needs to be addressed if it is a real possibility in that specific case. We need to prepare the patient and the family for different scenarios as part of the process.”

Indeed, it takes excellent communication and listening skills, plus the ability to adapt to each patient’s family dynamics, to become a good practitioner of palliative care. “Our role requires us to adjust well to each patient and his family, and discern how to approach them properly and effectively, because these are life-changing decisions we are helping them make,” she shares.

Discussions for both short-term goals and long-term plans for the patient take about two to three meetings to cover, especially since in Filipino culture, it’s likely that everyone — from the spouse to the extended family relatives — would want to be involved. Many other factors also come up, such as problems at home. Economic concerns often become an issue, too, as treatment and care for chronic patients can be financially draining for the family.

That’s why MakatiMed gives patients the option to continue receiving care and treatment with its home care services. “Home care allows patients to continue getting the sustaining care they need at home after being discharged from the hospital,” says Eric Nubla, Jr., MD, director of patient relations at MakatiMed.

Patients are sent a team of doctors and nurses, who’s always in close coordination with the hospital medical staff, in order to maintain the quality of care to be administered at home. “That way, they recover in a more comfortable environment, they’re closer to their families, and hospital costs are lessened,” adds Dr. Nubla.