Care when there is no cure
Subtitle: ensuring the right to palliative care in Mexico
By: [researched and written by Diederik Lohman; researched by Andrea Herrera García; reviewed by Joseph Amon, Daniel Wilkinson, Juliane Kippenberg, Aisling Reidy, and Babatunde Olugboji]
Contributors: Herrera García, Andrea, researcher; Amon, Joseph, reviewer; Wilkinson, Daniel, reviewer; Kippenberg, Juliane, reviewer; Reidy, Aisling, reviewer; Olugboji, Babatunde, reviewer; Human Rights Watch (Organization)
Publisher: Human Rights Watch
Published: 2014
Place of publication: New York]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 113
ISBN-13: 9781623132019
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: Human rights; Medical care; Health services accessibility; Treatment; Chronic diseases; Law and legislation; Palliative treatment
Other titles: Ensuring the right to palliative care in Mexico; Mexico :
Description: Every year, tens of thousands of people in Mexico develop debilitating symptoms, such as pain, breathlessness and anxiety, due to cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other life-threatening health conditions. Although Mexico's health law grants these people a right to palliative care, only a few dozen public healthcare institutions across the country actually offer this health service. Most healthcare personnel have received no training in the discipline, and few doctors are licensed to prescribe strong pain medicines that are essential for palliative care. Consequently, many patients cannot realize their legal right to adequate treatment and face great and unnecessary suffering. "Care When There Is No Cure" identifies the challenges people with life-limiting illnesses in Mexico face accessing palliative care, with a special focus on access to pain treatment. It analyzes current policies in the areas of healthcare, health insurance, training of healthcare providers and medicine availability in light of Mexico's international and national legal obligations. The report urges the Mexican government to fully integrate palliative care into the public healthcare system, ensuring that this health service. --
Notes: "October 2014"

Human Rights Watch report.

"Research for this report was conducted by Diederik Lohman, associate director of the Health and Human Rights Division of Human Rights Watch and Andrea Herrera García, a Mexican psychologist specialized in palliative care. Lohman wrote the report. It was reviewed by Joseph Amon, director of the Health and Human Rights Division of Human Rights Watch; Daniel Wilkinson, deputy director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch; Juliane Kippenberg, senior researcher in the Children's Rights Division, Aisling Reidy, senior legal advisor at Human Rights Watch; and Babatunde Olugboji, deputy director of the Program Office at Human Rights Watch." -- page 112.

Includes bibliographical references.

Also available online.
Table of contents: title: Summary; title: Recommendations; title: Methodology; title: I. Background; title: II. The experiences of people in need of palliative care; title: III. Exploring the causes for the palliative care gap; title: IV. Mexico's legal protections for patients in need of palliative care; title: V. Making the palliative care law work; title: Acknowledgments; title: Appendix 1. Public hospitals with known palliative care services in Mexico; title: Appendix 2. Comparison of WHO essential medicines list with Mexican Lists.