Spirituality, religion and palliative care

There is no doubt that the American population is aging; life expectancy has increased and, in turn, more people are living longer and sicker. By the year 2030, 70 million Americans will reach the age of 65 (1). Medicare expenditures will reach $835 million dollars by 2016; a large portion of these expenditures are spent within the last 2 years of life (2-4), a fact many clinicians can attest to as they care for chronically ill patients