#34 | GMJ Podcast | Palliative Care in Georgia — Health System Gaps and Policy Implications

In this episode of the GMJ Podcast — the official podcast of the Georgian Medical Journal — we present a newly published commentary examining palliative care as a key indicator of health system performance in Georgia.The article, authored by Sharvari Patil (Shota Rustaveli Batumi State University; ORCID: 0009-0003-0894-9886) and Sulkhan Inaishvili (Avicenna Batumi Medical University; ORCID: 0009-0004-6639-6068), explores unmet needs, access barriers, and policy implications related to palliative care services.Palliative care is increasingly recognised as a fundamental component of universal health coverage and people-centred health systems. However, global evidence indicates that a large proportion of individuals experiencing serious health-related suffering do not receive adequate care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.This commentary provides a policy-oriented analysis combining international evidence, national data, and health system perspectives. It highlights key challenges in Georgia, including limited service availability, concentration of care in urban areas, insufficient development of community-based services, workforce gaps, and regulatory barriers affecting access to opioid analgesics.The findings suggest that palliative care should be understood not only as a clinical service but also as an important indicator of health system equity, accessibility, and responsiveness.Read the articlehttps://gmj.ge/index.php/pub/article/view/14PDF versionhttps://gmj.ge/index.php/pub/article/view/14/9DOIhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19050661Citation:Patil S, Inaishvili S. Palliative Care as a Health System Indicator in Georgia: Unmet Need, Access Barriers, and Policy Implications. Georgian Medical Journal. 2026;1(1):14–34.