Hospice and Palliative Care: Concepts and Practice

End-of-life care is becoming a field of increasing importance in the United States healthcare system. Hospice and Palliative Care: Concepts and Practice, Second Edition, uses an interdisciplinary approach to provide a comprehensive view of this growing field, encompassing all disciplines involved. Contributors to the text come from all areas of end-of-life care, including social work, law, pharmacy, nursing, medicine, and spiritual counseling. Their diverse perspectives are rich in content and context, and when thoughtfully considered, enable healthcare workers to provide the best possible end-of-life care to patients and their families. Included in the text is an historical overview of hospice and palliative care programs; program management topics, such as eligibility and reimbursement and continuous quality improvement; and patient care issues, including cultural concerns, legal and ethical issues, symptom management, and near-death patient and bereavement support. Also included is an entire chapter devoted to useful case problems that enable application of the end-of-life issues brought forth within the text, and serve as informational resources for hospice and palliative care professionals. Hospice and Palliative Care: Concepts and Practice, Second Edition, is an ideal resource for nursing students in end-of-life care courses, and a comprehensive introductory text for professionals in the field of hospice and palliative care.