A palliative approach to care alongside disease-specific treatment should be part of the continuum of care for patients with advanced rheumatic disease toward the end of life. This approach aims to improve quality of life for patients with life-limiting illnesses, through the prevention and relief of suffering, the control of symptoms, and the management of physical, psychosocial and spiritual distress. Such an approach is supported by a growing body of evidence that demonstrates improved patient satisfaction with care, decreased symptom burden and, in some cases, better survival, when a palliative approach to care is integrated early in a patient’s disease trajectory. For more information:
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