[The role of psychiatrist in the team]

The palliative care team has started to organize in Japanese Hospital since 2002, because Japanese government established financial support to this kind of team. It was required that psychiatrist participated in the team, therefore, it has been discussed the role of psychiatrist. According to current palliative care in Japanese hospital, the author mentioned the role of psychiatrist in the team. As the role of a psychiatrist, there are psychiatric assessments and treatments for cancer patients, psychological supports for families, and supports for medical staffs. The problems of psychiatrist in the palliative care team are; hard to take enough time for those treatments and supports, an insufficient education system to young psychiatrist, and poor evidence to establish the standard psychiatric treatment.