Ep 86: What is Palliative Care and Who Needs It? With Dr. Alex Gamble | The Health Exchange Podcast

Episode 86 of The Health Exchange Podcast explores the science, psychology, and humanity of palliative care with guest Dr. Alex Gamble, an internist, psychiatrist, and palliative care physician. Dr. Rutland speaks with him about what palliative care actually means, how it differs from hospice, and why it should be considered throughout the course of serious illness rather than only at the end of life. The conversation examines the emotional side of serious illness, including how pain, anxiety, grief, and stress are deeply connected, and why helping patients and families process difficult emotions is just as important as managing physical symptoms. They also discuss delivering life-changing diagnoses, navigating goals of care, supporting families and clinicians through emotionally difficult situations, and the importance of creating psychological safety for doctors to acknowledge their own emotions. Ultimately, the episode explores how patients, families, and physicians can learn to sit with suffering, understand what their emotions are telling them, and keep the person’s values, goals, and humanity at the center of care.Follow Our Host:instagram.com/drjrutlandProduced by Born Ready Films:instagram.com/bornreadyfilms