Lurching Painfully Toward Meaningful Palliative Care

"Overdelegating palliative care ... would deprive us of the opportunity to participate in the richest dimensions of the care of our patients," they continued.

What a refreshing position, and one that I think offers promise as a launching pad for discussion.

Informed by research, we’ll discover over time how best to deliver palliative care, when, and by whom. The important thing is that it happens, and soon, before more patients needlessly suffer in a blind and sometimes futile pursuit of "the cure."

Dr. Freed is a clinical psychologist in Santa Barbara, Calif., and a medical journalist.