Comfort at the end of life: palliative care policy

Despite the lack of evidence for improvement in symptom relief, quality of life, or length of survival, patients who are terminally ill often are subjected to unnecessary invasive procedures and denied the symptom relief that modern technology and pharmacology make possible. Nursing administrators are in an ideal position to initiate interdisciplinary policy changes in this area and are encouraged to become familiar with the principles of palliative care. A recently developed policy is described and a review of supportive literature is given.