Researchers Call for Improved End-of-Life Care
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drpnncpp/iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Researchers at the Institute of Medicine released a report on Wednesday calling for improved end-of-life care.
“For patients and their loved ones, no care decisions are more profound than those made near the end of life,” the study reads. Researchers point out that factors including barriers to access for certain groups, a mismatch between services needed and available, inadequate palliative care and a fragmented delivery system leave significant room for improvement.
The IOM calls for “a person-centered, family-oriented approach, that honors individual preferences and promotes quality of life through the end of life.” The need for such changes, researchers say, “should be a national priority.”
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