🎧 Palliative Care as a Health System Indicator in Georgia⁠

In this episode, we shift focus from global migration health systems to a critical but often under-recognised dimension of health system performance: palliative care. Building on the broader discussion of equity, access, and system resilience, we examine how the availability of palliative care reflects deeper structural strengths and weaknesses within healthcare systems.

The Georgian Medical Journal Podcast serves as a platform translating scientific evidence into policy-relevant insights for clinicians, researchers, and decision-makers worldwide.

This episode is based on the peer-reviewed article by Sharvari Patil and Sulkhan Inaishvili, providing a structured, evidence-informed analysis of palliative care in Georgia, including:

• The global burden of serious health-related suffering, affecting more than 61 million people annually
• WHO estimates that only ~14% of those in need receive palliative care worldwide
• The concentration of opioid access in a small number of high-income countries, leaving over 80% of the global population underserved
• Structural barriers in Georgia, including limited geographic coverage and urban concentration of services
• Gaps in workforce capacity, training, and integration into mainstream healthcare delivery
• Regulatory and administrative constraints affecting access to opioid analgesics

Palliative care is increasingly recognised as a fundamental component of universal health coverage (UHC) and people-centred health systems. This episode reframes palliative care not only as a clinical service, but as a health system indicator — a tracer of equity, continuity of care, and access to essential medicines.

Drawing on global and national evidence, we explore how unmet need in palliative care reveals systemic gaps in service delivery, governance, and health system design.

Georgia provides a compelling case study of a health system in transition. Despite progress in healthcare reform, palliative care remains insufficiently developed, with limited community-based services, regulatory barriers, and uneven access across regions.

This episode demonstrates how strengthening palliative care requires:

• Expansion of community and home-based care models
• Balanced opioid policy implementation
• Improved workforce training and education
• Integration of palliative care into national health strategies

More broadly, it highlights how palliative care can function as a lens for evaluating health system responsiveness and equity in low- and middle-income settings.

Patil S, Inaishvili S.
Palliative Care as a Health System Indicator in Georgia: Unmet Need, Access Barriers, and Policy Implications.
Georgian Medical Journal. 2026;1(1):14–34
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19050661

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