Palliative Care a specialty in Ecuador

Abstract

Palliative care (PC) or palliative medicine is a new and growing specialty with a very defined and essential role; It has had some successes, but it has to successfully respond to new challenges to survive, prosper and become an ally of curative medicine and to be able to interact at the same time to improve care for patients and families facing complex diseases such as cancer. Currently, much is known about PC, but this knowledge is not benefiting the people who need it due to little or no academic training. For PCs to be incorporated into a health system, it is necessary to establish four fundamental components:

1. Policies. - Establish policies that integrate PC into the national health plan.

2. Drug availability. - Improve the availability and access to opioids to increase the opioid quota of the country's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

3. Education. Convince the public, community, health professionals, and politicians to include PC programs in undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

4. Implementation. Create new full-time PC positions, and provide the infrastructure for reference centers of excellence, including home care that will be replicated.

All of this will allow estimating the need for the proper development of PC. This editorial aims to publicize PC development in Ecuador from informality to postgraduate medical specialty.