Fast Facts FAQs

Yes, for non-commercial educational purposes, and with proper attribution. At minimum this means including the authors’ names and the original publication information including a link to the PCNOW Fast Facts and Concepts website: www.mypcnow.org. 

Additional Copyright Information

Fast Facts are a free palliative care educational resource and can be reprinted, with proper attribution, for non-commercial educational purposes. 

• Fast Facts are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike copyright.  
• If you plan on posting one or more Fast Facts to a website, please contact us and describe your organization and publication plans.   
• Independent publication of the entire collection of Fast Facts on a website other than mypcnow.org is not allowed due to the need to frequently update Fast Facts. 
• If you are using Fast Facts as part of a CME curriculum, please let us know.

If you are not sure if your reproduction of Fast Facts is appropriate by these guidelines, email the editor at smarks@mcw.edu

Fast Facts are published by number, month, and year (no volume or page numbers), and can be referenced a variety of ways depending on your preferred format. If a Fast Fact is published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine you can cite it as any other journal article. Examples include:

• Bradley C, Brasel K. Fast Facts and Concepts #194. Disclosing Medical Error. December 2007. Available at: https://www.mypcnow.org
• Bradley C, Brasel K. Disclosing medical error. Fast Facts and Concepts. December 2007; 194. Available at:  https://www.mypcnow.org

There are two ways. 1) Check the mypcnow.org website. New Fast Facts are generally published twice a month. 2) Subscribe to PCNOW for email notification and updates.

Drs. Drew Rosielle, Christopher Lawton, and Sean Marks are the Fast Fact Managing Directors

Fast Facts are peer reviewed by the Editorial Board members, as well as other experts in the field (see About Fast Facts).

Readers can send feedback on Fast Facts to the editor Sean Marks MD at smarks@mcw.edu.

Please email the editor at smarks@mcw.edu. Since Fast Facts are published digitally, errors can be corrected after publication.

Yes. Each Fast Fact has a “Version History” below the references. All Fast Facts were re-copy-edited in 2009 and then again in 2015.

We encourage anyone to write a Fast Fact. Contact the editor at smarks@mcw.edu, with your idea prior to actually writing to ensure that your topic is not already in the pipeline of new Fast Facts

Fast Facts are intended to be concise and practical. Generally they are limited to a single page (Arial 10pt type, single spaced), excluding references. This is approximately 650 words, not including references. Content summarized into bullets is encouraged in place of long text-only paragraphs.  There are no formal style specifications, but look at some recent Fast Facts for a sense of their style and format. 

Any topic which has to do with the supportive care of children or adults facing life-limiting diseases, or at the end of life. This can include pain and symptom management topics, disease specific topics (e.g. amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, congestive heart failure), prognostication, communication, decision-making, cultural and spiritual issues, ethics and public policy, location specific topics (e.g. hospices, nursing homes, intensive care units), as well as how caring for dying patients affects professionals and families.