Not all medical treatment is designed to solely combat a patient’s illness. Palliative treatment is treatment designed to improve the patient’s quality of life, which can mean a greater focus on mental health and pain management than on curing his or her illness. It is not uncommon for a physician to prescribe a treatment plan that combines palliative and curative treatment to improve all aspects of a patient’s life.

If your doctor created an ineffective treatment plan for your condition because he or she failed to diagnose the condition properly, failed to order the correct tests, or simply made assumptions about your health and prognosis without actually consulting your health record or present condition, you could be a victim of medical malpractice.

Curative vs. Palliative Treatment

Curative treatment is treatment that targets a condition in an effort to fight it. Examples of curative treatment include:

• Chemotherapy;
• Antibiotics;
• Surgery;
• Radiation therapy; and
• Dialysis.

Curative treatment is sometimes known as aggressive treatment. Its goal is to cure the patient’s condition and prolong his or her life.

In contrast, palliative treatment improves a terminal patient’s quality of life. Examples of palliative treatment include:

• Hospice care;
• Physical and occupational therapy;
• Therapy with a counselor or spiritual leader;
• The creation of advance directives; and
• Palliative care physicians who can help patients manage their pain and symptoms of their conditions.

Determining Whether Palliative Treatment or Curative Treatment is the Most Productive Course of Action

There are many factors that a physician must consider when determining whether a patient is a candidate for curative or palliative treatment. These factors include the patient’s age, his or her overall health and fitness level, and the stage of his or her disease. With conditions like cancer, which grow and become more serious over time, curative treatment is often only worthwhile when the disease is in an early stage.

Work with an Experienced Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you feel you were subjected to ineffective curative treatment that only made your condition worse or caused you to suffer stress and pain without improving your condition, or if you feel you could have benefited from curative treatment but instead only received palliative treatment, causing you to miss a crucial window of time to fight your condition, you could be a medical malpractice victim and entitled to recover compensation for your damages. To learn more about pursuing compensation through a medical malpractice claim, contact our team at Baizer Kolar, P.C. today to set up your initial consultation in our office.