Growth of Neuropallaitive Care and the Bright Future: Benzi Kluger, MD, MS

WATCH TIME: 2 minutes

"When I started doing this work, which was about 10 years ago, I was the only clinic in the United States that was doing this. There was less than a handful of people I could name in North America who were doing similar work, maybe less than 10 in the world. And that’s really changed."

Over the last decade, there has been a shift in neurology to treat patients from a more holistic perspective, incorporating multidisciplinary teams and improving quality of life. In line with this trend, neuropalliative care, often utilized in the oncology field, has begun to grow. This type of approach focuses in on those with serious conditions, most notable neurodegenerative disorders, and emphasizes relief of physical, emotional, and spiritual distress.

Although the two are often confused for each other, neuropalliative care is different than hospice. Palliative care is appropriate at any age and any stage of serious illness, whereas hospice is a type of care provided to individuals who are thought to be in the final stage of illness and approaching the end of life. Part of the expansion of neuropalliative care has been because of the International Neuropalliative Care Society (INPCS), which hosted its second annual meeting recently in a virtual platform from November 10 to 12.

To learn more about the recent advances in neuropalliative care, NeurologyLive^® sat down with INPCS president Benzi Kluger, MD, MS. Kluger, who also serves as a professor of neurology at the University of Rochester, specifically discussed the focus in expanding programs at a young level and introducing neurologists to palliative care. Additionally, he spoke about the dedication and increase in members for the society.