The population of seriously ill adults age 85 and older with multiple chronic diseases is projected to double, reaching 9 million by 2030. The rate of multiple chronic diseases in younger age groups is increasing almost as dramatically. In addition, at least 34 million households depend on related caregivers to care for seriously ill older relatives in their homes. The high stress that many of these caregivers feel puts them at a significantly increased risk for death, major depression and other serious illness. One solution is early referral for palliative care.

Current research shows that palliative care improves the quality of life for patients and their family members. This interdisciplinary medical specialty focuses on the “prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual” (World Health Organization).

This session is designed to increase awareness of the value of specialized palliative care in complex disease management, leading to better outcomes and better health care economics.

Learning Objectives
At the end of this educational activity, participants should be able to

1. State the benefits of timely referral to palliative care programs for patients and their caregivers
2. Recognize the potential impact on health care economics through the utilizing of palliative care

Method of Participation
There are no fees for participating in or receiving credit for this activity.
For information on applicability and acceptance of continuing education credit for this activity, please consult your professional licensing board.

Participants will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the activity, which includes the following:

• Completing the entire activity
• Completing the Pre- and Post-Activity Assessments, Activity Evaluation, and Application for Certificate of Credit forms

You must be logged in to your account to participate in this activity. Start by clicking “Begin” and viewing the “CE Info”; then follow the prompts at the bottom of the screen. At the end of the activity, you will be able to view, save, or print your certificate of participation. The Area of Practice you indicated in your profile corresponds with your certificate type. A complete listing of all of your activities can be found in your profile.

Faculty Listing
R. Sean Morrison, MD, FAAHPM
Director, National Palliative Care Research Center
Director, Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute
Professor, Departments of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, and Internal Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York, New York

Disclosures
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OptumHealth Education ensures that the content is independent of commercial bias.

Provided By
This activity is provided by OptumHealth Education.

Commercial Support
There was no commercial support received for this activity.

Method for Calculating CE Credit
CE credit was calculated by the complexity of content.

Hardware/Software Requirements
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