Palliative Care in Hepatology: Evolving Perspectives, Emerging Evidence, and Opportunities for Integration

Arpan A. Patel, MD, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a Staff Hepatologist at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. He is a nationally recognized physician-scientist whose research focuses on improving the quality of care for patients with advanced liver disease through the integration of palliative care principles, patient-centered communication, and evidence-based healthcare delivery. Dr. Patel’s clinical and research interests include decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and alcohol-associated liver disease, with particular emphasis on symptom management, advance care planning, shared decision-making, caregiver support, and improving quality of life. His work seeks to develop and evaluate innovative models of supportive care that can be integrated alongside disease-directed therapies and liver transplantation. Dr. Patel received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by gastroenterology fellowship training at UCLA and advanced transplant hepatology training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He earned a PhD in Health Policy and Management from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, where his doctoral research focused on advance care planning in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. An accomplished investigator, educator, and advocate for patient-centered hepatology care, Dr. Patel has published extensively in leading journals, including JAMA Internal Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Hepatology, Gastroenterology, and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. His research has been supported by organizations including the AASLD, the Veterans Health Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. Through his multidisciplinary research and clinical leadership, Dr. Patel continues to advance the integration of palliative care into hepatology, with the goal of improving patient and caregiver experiences, healthcare quality, and outcomes for individuals living with serious liver disease.