Class Exercise

Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have all adopted approaches to end of life care that blend palliative care and curative medicine in ways that are specific to the needs of individual patients and their caregivers. In contrast, the U.S. employs a dichotomous approach to end of life care that imposes a rigid dividing line between curative health care and health care that is oriented to symptom control and the psychosocial supports reserved for final stages of illness.

1. Identify what you believe to be the top three impediments to the development of a more integrated approach to palliative care in the U.S.


2. Explain your reasoning.


3. Choose one of the impediments and suggest what might be a policy strategy for overcoming it.

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