For People Living with a Serious Illness, and Those Close to Them

Get more information about palliative care, advance care planning, and community resources

What is Palliative Care?

The term "Palliative Care" (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) comes from the word "palliate" which means to alleviate or reduce suffering.

Palliative Care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness.

The goal is to improve quality of life for the person living with the illness and those close to them.
It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness. It can be provided with treatments meant to cure the illness.
Care focuses on relief of symptoms and stress.
A specially-trained team of palliative care doctors, nurses, and other specialists work together with a patient's other doctors to give an extra and layer of support.
The palliative care team's focus is on the needs of the person living with the illness and their loved ones.

What Does Palliative Care Provide? Care that helps you live your best life and focuses on what matters most to you.

What We Do

In palliative care, we see the person, not just the disease. We give care to to the people living with a serious illness as well as those close to them such as family, friends, and caregivers.

We provide holistic, or "whole person," care. This care includes the body (physical symptoms), mind (psychological distress), spirit (existential or spiritual concerns), and everyday parts of life.

We offer office- and telehealth-based visits with a team of doctors, nurses, social workers, and spiritual care providers. We work with your other doctors to help you live as well as you can.

More Services

Care to ease pain, stress, and other symptoms (like nausea, shortness of breath, constipation, depression, anxiety, or spiritual & existential needs)
Care that focuses on your desires, values, and goals
Work with your other doctors and care team
Time to talk about you, your illness, your treatment options, and decisions
Help with advance health care planning (such as how to talk to your doctors or family, completing advance health care directives or living wills).

"Palliative Care was a game changer." See the video above to hear more from Stanford's Palliative Care team and one of our patients about their experiences with palliative care.

Is Palliative Care Right for Me? Check if Palliative Care might be able to help you.

Advice on When to Ask for Palliative Care

Advice on How to Ask for Palliative Care

How Do I Get Palliative Care? Get connected to Stanford Palliative Care or palliative care at another place.

Getting Palliative Care at Stanford

Call Us

Contact Palliative Care at (650) 724-0385

Get A Referral

Ask your doctor or nurse for a referral to palliative care

Choose Your Stanford Clinic

Clinics are in Palo Alto, San Jose, Emeryville, and by telehealth or video visits

Follow Up

Follow up visits are in-person, by telephone or by video visits

Learn more about our services

All of our clinicians...are so passionate that this service is accessible for patients and families who need it.

Getting Palliative Care Outside of Stanford

The Bay Area has many great palliative care teams. It is helpful to find a palliative care team that works closely with your other doctors.

If you are looking for a palliative care team outside of Stanford, go to getpalliativecare.org.

Find a Palliative Care team outside of Stanford

Who is Part of the Palliative Care Team? Palliative care is provided by a team of doctors and specialists, who work together.

Who is Part of the Palliative Care Team?

Palliative care is provided by an interdisciplinary team. It includes the person living with an illness and their loved ones, doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, and spiritual care providers. You can learn more about the Stanford Palliative Care team members here.

People Living with Serious Illness and Those Close to Them

People living with serious illness and those close to them are the focus of the care team. Care plans are based on each patient’s needs and wishes. The care team schedules time to talk with patients and families. This ensures that care matches the patient’s goals and needs.

Doctors and Nurse Practitioners

These clinicians are trained in care that improves quality of life and reduces suffering. They work with patients and their other doctors to guide the plan of care.

Nurses

Palliative care nurses are trained in care that improves quality of life and reduces suffering. They work closely with the person living with an illness and their loved ones. They watch vital signs and manage medicines.

Social Workers

Social workers help people with practical or everyday needs. They help with confusing insurance or legal forms. They offer and help find emotional or other supports.

Spiritual Care Providers

Spiritual care providers and chaplains give emotional support. Support is based on the person's values. People do not need to be religious or part of a certain faith to benefit from spiritual care. Spiritual care providers are there to listen to everyone without judgment. They can guide talks about hope, meaning, and growth.

Who Pays for Palliative Care? Covered by your insurance like other medical specialties.

Most health insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, cover all or parts of palliative care, if it is received while in a hospital, outpatient clinic, rehabilitation, or skilled nursing center. It's covered like other medical or hospital services. You may have a copay like you have for other covered services. Some health insurance plans cover palliative care services provided in the community.

In California, MediCal covers palliative care if certain criteria are met for people with advanced cancer, congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or liver disease.

It is good to know what copays or fees you will need to pay. You can call your health insurance plan or ask your palliative care team to help you.

Stanford is committed to making sure all our patients have access to palliative care. Ask your care team at Stanford to help you find out if your insurance covers palliative care.

Read more about health insurance and palliative care services at Get Palliative Care.

How Does Palliative Care Work? A step-by-step guide from referral to your first visit and beyond.

Referral

If you are interested in seeing our palliative care team, ask your health care provider for a referral.

Palliative care can be appropriate for people at any age or at any stage of a serious illness, and can be provided alongside all other treatments, including those aimed to cure. Palliative care focuses on improving your quality of life and helping you to live your best life. Palliative care can help with managing difficult symptoms such as pain, nausea, shortness of breath, or constipation. We can also help with symptoms like depression, anxiety, and the stress of coping with an illness.

Palliative care focuses on who you are as a person, beyond your disease. It can also offer help to loved ones and caregivers.

If you would like to make a self-referral, please contact our office at 650-724-0385.

Your First Visit

Your first visit with our palliative care team will be approximately 60 minutes (1 hour) in duration. You will meet with either a doctor or a nurse practitioner. You may also meet a member of our social work and/or spiritual care team during this first appointment.

Our team typically start our visits by getting to know you as a person. You are welcome to share what you feel comfortable sharing. We often ask about how you like to spend your time, who provides you with support, and what parts of life bring you joy and meaning.

After getting to know you and your family/loved ones, we will focus on how we can help improve your quality of life. This might include talking about difficult symptoms like pain, nausea, shortness of breath, constipation, anxiety, or depression. We can also help you think about your future care by discussing advance health care planning or questions you may have about your current or future treatment plans. We will work together with you to focus on the areas that are most important to you.

Developing a Care Plan

Our care plans are based on your values and beliefs. The care plan can change based on your needs.

The care plan is designed to lessen the physical and emotional impact of the illness. Pain, upset stomach, lack of appetite, or exhaustion are eased with both medicines (pharmacologic) and non-medicine (non-pharmacologic) interventions. The care plan also helps to ease stress about emotional or social worries.

When building the plan, the care team will help you to:

Know as much as you can about your illness. It's good to understand all of your options. Ask the care team if you have any questions about the disease or treatments.
Think about what "quality of life" means to you. What do you enjoy doing? What do you most value? What brings you joy or meaning?
Think about your beliefs. Do you have cultural or spiritual beliefs that may affect care decisions?
Think about what kind of care you want. Is curing the disease the main goal? Or is comfort the main goal? What curative care do you want? Do you want emergency care (such as CPR or tube feeding)?

At Stanford, our palliative care team will order medications that are needed to treat the symptoms that are discussed during your visit. Your other doctors will continue to order medications and treatments for other issues that are not discussed during your visits with palliative care. (For example, our palliative care team may prescribe medications to treat pain, while the oncologist would still prescribe medications and treatments for cancer).

Follow-Up

The palliative care team follows up with you to make sure the care plan is working. Changes are made and other support is given when needed.

Palliative care is provided on an as-needed basis. Some patients get better and stop meeting with the palliative care team after one or two visits. Some patients need care over longer periods of time. Routine check-ups are set for patients needing ongoing care. Changes in the care plan are always discussed with the patient and family/loved ones.

How is Palliative Care Different from Hospice Palliative care is available at any stage of illness. It can be provided with other treatment therapy.

Palliative care can be something that happens the same time as patients are pursuing curative treatment. Hospice is specifically for patients who are focusing at the end of life, specifically the last 6 months of their life.

Palliative care

What is the focus?

Palliative care focuses on the pain, symptoms, and stress of serious illness at any time during someone's serious illness, not just the last 6 months of life.

Who can receive this type of care?

Anyone with a serious illness. It does not matter how long you are expected to live. The person living with a serious illness can decide with their doctor when palliative care would be right for them.

Can someone who gets palliative care also get treatments to cure at the same time?

Yes. People can receive palliative care to services to better manage pain, symptoms, emotional or psychological distress, and more. They can get these services while havingundergoing treatments to cure, such as chemotherapy.

Who provides these services?

A team of doctors, nurse practitioners, social workers, and spiritual care providers. This team works together with your other doctors to coordinate all of your care. You get quality care this way.

How long can someone get palliative care?

It depends on a person's care needs, and their health insurance. Most people get palliative care on an on and off basis, or when whenever the extra help is needed. Many see the palliative care team more as their disease worsens.

Hospice

What is the focus?

Hospice care focuses on the pain, symptoms, and stress of serious illness during the last 6 months of someone's life.

Who can receive this type of care?

To receive hospice services, two doctors must agree that the person has 6 months or less to live if the disease runs its natural course. Of course, the person living with the illness would also need to decide they would like to receive hospice services.

Can someone who gets hospice also get treatments to cure at the same time?

People on hospice do not receive treatments that aim to cure. They still receive medical care, and the focus of this care is providing the best quality of life for the person with the time they have left. Hospice should be considered when the burden of receiving treatments to cure outweigh the benefits.

Who provides these services?

A team of a doctor, nurses (usually), social workers, and spiritual care providers. There may also be volunteers and aides to help the patient and their loved ones. The hospice team works together with your doctor.

How long can someone be on hospice?

As long as a person can get hospice care as long as they meets their health insurance requirements to get this care. Length of care is measured in months.