Overview
- Fundación 'la Caixa' runs a national Program for the Comprehensive Care of People with Advanced Illnesses that the World Health Organization has endorsed and that reported 66 teams, more than 225 professionals and support for over 80,000 people by 2025.
- Clinicians led by Julio Gómez Cañedo emphasize a human-centred model that treats presence, compassion and spiritual care as central to dignity in the final phase of life and estimate many who die would have benefited from palliative support.
- This week’s coverage highlights early technology pilots, including the HENKO NET platform, virtual reality sessions that let patients 'visit' places they cannot travel to, and telemonitoring to extend care into rural homes as a complement to in-person visits.
- Patient testimony from María Parrado shows how the program provides practical home support and emotional accompaniment through named staff members, illustrating how weekly visits and multidisciplinary teams change daily life for people with advanced illness.
- Across the region, experts note a gap between law and delivery: Argentina’s Law 27.678 recognizes palliative care as a right but only about one in ten people who need services currently access them, underscoring the need for policy action and wider service rollout.