Palliative Care

Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than striving to halt, delay, or reverse progression of the disease itself or to provide a cure. The goal of palliative care is to prevent and relieve suffering, therefore improving the quality of life for people facing serious and complex illnesses. Palliative care is not dependent on prognosis, meaning that an individual can receive palliative care at the same time as curative treatment for the disease. Palliative care customizes to meet the needs of each individual patient. It helps patients to continue on with the activities of their daily lives. It can also help to improve a patient’s ability to receive and better tolerate medical treatment. Hospice is not the same as palliative care, however palliative care is always provided in hospice. Palliative care is usually provided by a team of doctors, nurses, and social workers.


Hospice Care

Hospice care is focused on the terminally ill while palliative care can be provided to anyone at any point during illness. Palliative care can, and often does, segue into hospice care as a terminal illness progresses. Hospice care provides comfort and support to the patient as well as the loved ones of the patient when curative treatments are no longer effective. Hospice provides comfort care as well as spiritual and emotional support for those individuals at the end of a terminal illness. While hospice does not prolong life, it also does not accelerate death. However, choosing hospice care can mean giving up the right to seek curative treatment for the disease, depending on the individual’s medical coverage.

Issues to consider with Palliative Care

Admission Criteria
• When will insurance pay for palliative care? How will my care change if the diagnosis changes?

Setting
• Where will care be provided?

Staffing
• Who will be providing care? How is my physician involved?

Family Involvement and Support
• How will my loved-ones be involved in my care?

Comfort and Pain Management
• How will pain medication be managed? How will support, both emotional and spiritual, be provided?

Contracts
• Are services contracted out? How so?

Issues to Consider with Hospice Care

Hospice Team Membership
• Is the team composition appropriate for me and loved ones? Who is involved in the team?

Hospice Benefit Coverage and Duration
• What is covered by my insurance? How long will I be covered? Is there a cap?

Selecting a Hospice Care Service
• What references have I obtained? Is the service licensed? What support services are provided? What are the payment policies?


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