Considered to be the model for quality, compassionate care for people facing a serious or life-limiting illness or injury, hospice care involves a team-oriented approach to expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes. Patients with life-ending and shortening diseases suffer symptoms of chronic pain, nausea, and anorexia. Evidence continues to evolve regarding the role of medical cannabis to treat these symptoms and improving the quality of life for hospice and palliative care patients. .
Unfortunately, patients and their caregivers are receiving little information or support from healthcare providers regarding the increasingly widespread use of medical cannabis or, cannabinoid-based medicines (CBM) for symptom relief. Providers are perplexed by the lack of available evidence-based research on CBM and the increased interest patients and their families have in CBM.
CannabizMD Founder/CEO Jacquie Cohen Roth, MS hosted the webinar “Hospice + Palliative Care: Medical Cannabis Complement or Alternative” with three hospice and palliative care healthcare providers: Nurse Toni, Dr. Jaclyn Schneider, M.D., and Dr. Blake Pearson. Despite diversity in their respective clinical practice and geographic location, they share a commitment to the therapeutic benefits of medical cannabis for their patients. The ensuing conversation goes beyond hospice and palliative care to treating veterans and community members’ PTSD with medical cannabis; medical cannabis in the Canadian healthcare system; dosing standards; the challenges of polypharmacy, and how to overcome the stigma held by provider colleagues.
