Abstract
Dear Editor:
I recently happened upon Get Palliative Care (www.getpalliativecare.org), the direct to consumer marketing website that is maintained by The Center to Advance Palliative Care. I am a generally healthy 47-year-old man with no chronic illnesses, but I do admit to some occasional constipation, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and chronic pain from an arthritic knee that slows me down at times. After clicking on the link entitled ‘Is it right for you?’ and answering a few questions, I was informed that “Palliative care is something you might need” and was urged to talk to my doctor. I don't see a doctor regularly (because there is nothing wrong with me) and so I surmise that I probably don't really need palliative care, at least not any more than I need to take a little purple pill for my occasional heartburn.
There is a legitimate need to integrate palliative approaches to care and embrace the complexity involved in caring for those with serious illness, yet there is something very disquieting about a big pharma approach to the wholesale marketing of specialist palliative care. It seems more focused on driving consumer demand for referrals than systematically improving the care we provide. This kind of promotion projects an odd blend of messiah and inferiority complexes, simultaneously promising improved quality of life for all patients with chronic illness while desperately seeking acceptance and legitimacy.
While I acknowledge difficulties inherent in promoting the growth and development of a new subspecialty within a free market health care economy, surely we can do better. Perhaps it is time to stop chasing ambulances and let the results of our work stand alone, confident in the knowledge that something that has value does not need to be sold.