Palliative Patient Ethics And Challenges

PALLIATIVE CANCER ETHICS AND CHALLENGES

With the above mentioned backdrop on palliative care in India, it is a highly important to imitate the Western world’s way of palliative care. Palliative cancer care has become mandatory for physicians in formulating a systematic plan of patient care.

These modern methods of pain relief require an analysis of some of the ethical issues with a focus on palliative care. These issues include:

• Relief of pain and suffering

• Autonomy and consent

• Multi-specialist care

The above mentioned issues are some points that are to be considered by modern medical practitioners who are caring for patients. It is also important to know whether or not these medical practitioners are actually specialized in providing

Another alternative method of pain relief provider is called the “Siddha medicine”. This is another branch of medicine which supports the supernatural powers of healing. So is the undertaking of herbal medicine which is also a very common element in Indian alternative medicine.

This alternative method of medical care is more prominent in remote parts of India where patients who live below the line of poverty cannot afford palliative services and are compelled to try these alternative therapies.

The third issue deals with the rights and wrongs of being treated by a team of specialists who are trained in providing palliative care. As mentioned above, palliative cancer care is provided by various specialists who are working towards meeting the needs of terminally ill patients. These medical practitioners are continuously exposed to terminally ill patients and their families who have issues related to the physical, psychological, social and spiritual method of providing palliative care. Medical practitioners who provide palliative cancer care require more knowledge and skill to manage the more complicated situations and interactions with other medical practitioners and

This could be achieved by the medical practitioners who provide appropriate medical therapies and involve close monitoring of the practical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and of their family members.

India is a country which is relatively new when it comes to the concept of palliative care treatment, and palliative care is still an emerging and naïve healthcare program for both Indian patients and medical practitioners. Efforts to develop a proper palliative care strategy have now been established at the city or state level and the goal is to establish an effective palliative care at the national level.

A survey was conducted a few years ago in order to compare the level of awareness of palliative cancer care amongst medical students versus medical interns at Kasturba Medical College. This study revealed that there is a relatively low level of understanding of palliative care amongst both the medical interns and students. Such results only reflect the lack of interest not only by the Government and patient populations but in the training academic institutions