Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It is focused on giving patients relief from the symptoms, pain, stress, and treatments of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to provide the best possible quality of life for the patient and the family.1 Although 66% of large hospitals have a palliative care program,2 there is significant variation in the types of programs and services offered, giving rise to concern regarding variation in the quality of care provided by these programs.