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Bridget M. Kuehn

JAMA. 2008;299(8):888.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Physicians providing end-of-life care should carefully assess their patients for pain, dyspnea, depression, and other symptoms and use effective therapies to treat such symptoms, according to a new guideline on palliative care issued by the American College of Physicians (ACP) in January (Qaseem A et al. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148[2]:141-146).

The guideline was based on a literature review published in the same issue (Lorenz KA et al. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148[2]:147-159) and on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's 2004 evidence report on end-of-life care (http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/evidence/pdf/eolcare/eolcare.pdf).

Close to one-third of all Medicare dollars are spent on end-of-life care, and such expenditures are expected to increase as advances in medical care enable more persons to live longer. Yet much of the care that dying individuals receive is not supported by evidence, and too many dying individuals suffer needlessly from treatable pain and distress, . . . [Full Text of this Article]