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This time of year is sports fan’s heaven but unfortunately I seem to have been born without the “sports fan gene”. Family, friends and colleagues exchange sad, knowing glances at my pathetic mixed sports metaphors and attempts to engage in post-weekend sports banter.  Despite that, as I write this first health care blog of 2013, all I have are sports metaphors floating in my head.  I apologize ahead of time to all sports fans out there.

Having crossed into 2013, the trigger date of 2014 for implementing the biggest elements of the health care law seems imminent...

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Considering the fact that CIVHC ‘s expansive charge is to improve the quality of care and bend the cost curve for health care across the state of Colorado, many people wonder why CIVHC has committed to an effort so specific as improving access to high quality palliative care, especially at such an early stage in our organization’s development. Perhaps an organization such as CIVHC should be more focused on “big picture” issues in Colorado, by identifying where we have the greatest opportunities to impact the quality and cost of care for the largest segments of our population. In 2008, the members of CIVHC’s planning committee took on that exercise, and identified palliative care as one of those opportunities.

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In Parts I and II of my series, “What is Palliative Care?”, and “Why Focus on Palliative Care?”, I explained why palliative care has become a specific focus area for CIVHC to address the Triple Aim of improving health, enhancing health care quality and containing costs. In this final post, I'll explain CIVHC’s work to date convening task forces and implementing recommendations to address palliative care Triple Aim opportunities.

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Despite some interesting “discussions” at the federal level on end-of-life care over the last few years, CIVHC continues our commitment as a convener and leader to improve access to high-quality palliative care across Colorado. Along the way, we’ve received many questions from stakeholders about palliative care and our decision to focus on this topic, especially in the light of highly charged political rhetoric associated with end-of-life care over the last couple years. Over the course of the next few months, I will be answering some of the questions we get most often in an effort to demystify palliative care. Today's question focuses on a common misperception that palliative care and hospice care are one and the same.

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