A palliative care consultation may be desirable when a doctor feels that a patient may need:
- Expert symptom management.
- Help understanding what to expect with his/her diagnosis, treatments and changing medical condition and needs.
- Assistance in determining how aggressive a patient wants his/her treatments to be.
- Assisting patients with deciding in advance what they want to happen in the event of a medical crisis.
- Information about end of life options, such as hospice.
- Emotional support when an illness is advancing.
- Support of families when a patient is on life support or nearing death.
