At the Intersection of Palliative Care, Psychedelic Medicine, and Healthcare Reform: A Call for a New Hospice and Palliative Care Movement

Palliative care providers are expected to address psychological and spiritual distress in patients, as existential suffering can worsen symptoms and limit treatment. The author argues that tending to psychospiritual domains is as fundamental as managing physical symptoms, positioning palliative care to lead healthcare toward a more integrative approach. This reform is described as a disruptive effort akin to the modern hospice movement of the 1960s. The article strengthens the case for healthcare reform as a patient, provider, and societal imperative, discusses the historical role of palliative care in healthcare delivery, and reflects on lessons from psychedelic clinical research for redefining the medical and societal role of healers, leaders, and reformers.

Study at a glance

Abstract

As palliative care providers, we are expected to expertly address psychological and spiritual distress among our patients. Left unchecked, existential suffering threatens to exacerbate symptom burden and limit therapeutic potential. Tending to the psychospiritual domains of a person’s experience is thus as fundamental to our roles as healers as is familiarity with equianalgesic charts and bowel regimen protocols. Our inherent grounding in the human experience positions palliative care providers to be leaders in the evolution of the healthcare system toward a more integrative approach that serves patients, providers, and communities better. This will be a disruptive effort, reminiscent of the modern hospice movement of the 1960s that sprung our field as we know it into existence. In the remainder of this article, I will strengthen my case for healthcare reform as a patient, provider, and societal imperative. Additionally, I will discuss the historical context for the role of palliative care in the evolution of healthcare delivery and reflect on the lessons that the resurgent psychedelic clinical research field can provide as we reconsider our medical and societal place as healers, leaders, and reformers.