General palliative care should be evaluated

EDITOR—Higginson rightly calls for the development of standards for all services that provide palliative care and for the evaluation of aspects of palliative care that are so far unevaluated.1 Levels of need for palliative care are likely to continue rising, with the increasing incidence of cancer as the population ages and with improved survival from cancer. It is important that we plan to meet the increased need with cost effective measures. In addition to the areas for further attention that Higginson mentions, we would add the whole area of general palliative care, an issue only alluded to in the editorial.1

Palliative care should be at the core of the work of every health professional. The term “general palliative …