Donate

If you are living with a serious illness, whether curable, chronic, or life-limiting, Inova’s palliative care teams are available to help improve your quality of life.

Palliative care is a specialized form of medical care that focuses on relief from symptoms, pain, loss of function and stress caused by serious illness. It can be offered as an additional layer to your curative treatment at any age or stage of illness, to cover all aspects of your physical and social-emotional well-being.

Inova's palliative care teams include doctors, advanced practice providers, clinical therapists and chaplains. They work alongside the standard healthcare team to help patients and families navigate treatment options and provide psychological, emotional, spiritual, and social support.

Medicare, Medicaid, and most insurance plans typically cover inpatient and outpatient palliative care services.

Learn more about how we provide integrated palliative care support throughout a patient's journey

Request palliative care

While in the hospital, patients can request a visit from the palliative care team through their regular healthcare providers. The team usually schedules a visit within one to two days. Healthcare providers can also recommend outpatient palliative care programs for home, clinic or telehealth visits.

Frequently asked questions

Palliative care benefits patients, families and caregivers by focusing on improving comfort and enhancing quality of life. In some cases, palliative care has been shown to extend life expectancy. You may be referred to palliative care to assist with:

  • Pain and symptom control: Expert management of pain and other challenging symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue, anxiety, decreased appetite and others.
  • Treatment coordination: Facilitating communication between patients, families, caregivers and healthcare teams to meet individual needs and help patients and their families navigate complex health information and treatment choices to align with personal care goals.
  • Emotional and spiritual support: Addressing the fear and stress associated with coping with a serious illness and facilitating communication and support for all involved.

You do not need to switch from your primary healthcare team. The palliative care team works with your healthcare team, which continues to oversee and participate in your treatment.

  • Palliative care is available at any stage of a serious illness and is suitable for patients of all ages. It can be provided at the same time as treatment meant to cure you (curative treatment).
  • Patients can receive palliative care in the hospital or at home.
  • Medicare, Medicaid, and most insurance plans cover all or part of palliative care treatment, like other medical services

Palliative care is suitable for anyone with a serious illness, regardless of life expectancy. Hospice care is comprehensive care for patients in the end stages of an illness, when doctors believe they have six months or less to live.

What patients say about palliative care

Communication and continuity of care

"The palliative care doctor was so caring and personable and provided great continuity of care. She made a difference. The palliative care team knows the history of the medications, treatments and symptoms." (patient)
Advocacy for individualized care

"Palliative care teams helped the rest of my doctors and caregivers take my individualized needs into account. My palliative care physicians offered a broader perspective and provided another voice." (patient)
Help with challenging pain

"I wish we had gotten [palliative care] involved earlier. You have made such a difference. She is so much more comfortable. Things are much better now that you are involved." (Parents of an eight-year-old girl who has cancer.)
Uncovering inner strength

"I thought to myself, 'I want to stop treatments. I don't want to do this anymore.' But I remember my palliative care doctor coming into the room and telling me, 'You can do it.' She told me I was a strong woman and was convinced I could handle cancer treatment. I lived to see my granddaughter be born." (patient)