Jeremy Hirst, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, offers concrete advice on assessing the need for these medications, using them safely, and knowing when to deprescribe them.
Jamie Jacobs, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, discusses study results that showed integrating oncology and palliative care early in the course of treatment helps people with incurable lung and gastrointestinal cancers cope better and have an improved quality of life and less depression (Abstract 92).
Thomas J. Smith, MD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, discusses successful models of integrating palliative care into outpatient oncology.
Areej El-Jawahri, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses a video tool that helps overcome communication barriers so that patients can make more informed decisions for end-of-life care and their preferences are respected.
Jacob J. Strand, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, discusses tips and tools that clinicians can use to develop universal precautions for prescribing opioids in oncology and palliative care practice.
Michael Hoerger, PhD, of Tulane University, discusses the effect on quality of life, depression, and end-of-life care when physicians focus on coping or on decision-making and advance care planning (Abstract 154).
