Palliative medicine in Mediterranean countries: different approaches, same philosophy

Despite the fact that Italy and Spain are culturally similar, there are important differences in palliative care services development. For example, Italy has a greater proportion of hospice teams compared with Spain, while Spain has a greater proportion of hospital support teams.1 Noting these differences, we decided to compare a major palliative care service model from each country: the Seragnoli Hospice Foundation (FHS), Italy, and the Palliative Care Support Team (PCST) at the Clinica Universidad de Navarra (CUN), Spain, where an oncologist from FHS recently completed a 4-week rotation. We compare the institutions according to symptom assessment and management, psychological and spiritual care, caregiver support and impact on the rest of the hospital. Initially, the differences between the two teams, such as culture and practice, were more noticeable, but by the end of the rotation the shared values were what stood out. FHS is a private non-profit foundation in Italy composed of three hospices that care for advanced and terminal patients, each with a …