Care Outside the Comfort Zone: Assessing the Needs of Patients with Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorder and Life-Limiting Illness

Ariel Leath, MA
Master of Arts in Bioethics student
University of Pittsburgh

Abstract: In an ideal scenario, a patient with life-limiting illness, uncontrolled pain and a substance use disorder would have a care team consisting of clinicians from palliative care and addiction medicine. In reality, this collaboration is not always possible, and sometimes is not even requested or desired. During this session we will consider why these medical specialties often do not overlap, and what should (and possibly can) be done about it. Further, we will discuss whether this collaboration should be considered a necessary first step, or whether each medical specialty has the appropriate assessment skills to deliver appropriate and informed care to this type of patient.

Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) on healthcare ethics is offered through the West Virginia Rural Emergency Trauma Institute Inc