What is the difference between palliative care and hospice care?
Palliative care is designed to provide comfort for people with serious illnesses. Hospice care is offered when a person is not expected to survive an illness. Curative treatments are stopped and life expectancy is six months or less.
Palliative care might be offered to those who have:
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Lung disease
- Kidney failure
- Dementia
- HIV/AIDS
Illnesses that may require hospice care include:
- AIDS
- Cancer
- Stroke
- Congestive heart failure
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Dementia
- Liver disease
- Neurological conditions
- Kidney disease
What does a doctor do in palliative care?
Doctors who provide palliative care specialize in improving your quality of life while decreasing suffering from illness. The goals of palliative care are to help people impacted by a serious illness. Palliative care focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of an illness. Palliative care doctors do not expect to cure an illness. Instead, the goal is how to best live with the illness.
Palliative care is often provided through a team approach that will involve doctors, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, physical therapists, and dieticians.
Where does a palliative care doctor work?
Palliative care doctors can be found in many places. A few of the places they might work include:
- Hospitals
- Hospices
- Outpatient clinics
- Nursing facilities
- Assisted living facilities
- Home care
What is a hospice visit?
An initial hospice visit is to see if you or your loved one is a candidate for hospice care. Often a nurse or social worker will meet with you. Hospice might be initiated by one of your healthcare providers, or you can contact hospice directly.
You’ll have a physical exam during the initial visit, and a schedule for future visits will be determined. You’ll be given information regarding your plan of care and who to contact for any needs.
Visits with a hospice nurse are usually scheduled two to three times a week and last for about an hour. The nurse will communicate with the hospice doctor, keeping them updated and changing the plan of care as needed.
Can you see a doctor while on hospice?
Yes, you can see a doctor while on hospice. The hospice team will communicate with other doctors that you may have. However, the hospice team doctor will now be the primary person in charge of your care. Having the hospice doctor coordinate your care can decrease the stress of keeping up with many different specialists.
Can you go on and off hospice?
Yes, you can go on and off hospice. To qualify for hospice care, life expectancy is six months or less. Sometimes conditions change and improve. If life expectancy changes to beyond six months, you will be discharged from hospice care. If things change again in the future, hospice care can be restarted.
