Comfort and Compassion: The Overlooked Strengths of Hospice and Palliative Care
- Rebecca Kruise
- Dec 21, 2023
- 3 min read
Often, the words hospice and palliative care are scary for individuals and loved ones. It means the end is coming, and many people do not want to think about that or start the grieving process. However, hospice and palliative care are two of the most beneficial and underutilized services available to individuals AND their loved ones as they manage a terminal illness and/or approach death.
Palliative care focuses on providing comfort and relief from symptoms throughout the course of a serious or life-limiting illness, is available alongside curative treatment, and is covered by insurance, aiming to improve the quality of life for individuals with conditions like cancer or heart failure.
Hospice care, predominantly funded by Medicare and reserved for individuals with a prognosis of six months or less, emphasizes comfort without curative intent and provides pain and symptom management, emotional support, and various services tailored to enhance the quality of life in the terminal stages of a serious illness.
I love palliative care and hospice care because they are incredibly patient-centered. They focus on the goals and values of the patient and what matters to them as they approach the end of life.
Palliative and hospice care are not a drug or a procedure. It’s a team of individuals who help walk through the journey of those facing a serious illness.
Palliative Care:
Palliative care is to provide comfort care while providing pain and symptom relief with OR without curative intent.
Paid by insurance
Available at any stage of the disease
Available at the same time as curative treatment
Typically happens in a hospital
It provides relief from the symptoms and physical and mental stress of a serious or life-limiting illness. It can be pursued at diagnosis, curative treatment, follow-up, or end-of-life.
Focuses on easing pain and discomfort, reducing stress, and helping people have the highest quality of life possible
For ANYONE with a serious illness like cancer, COPD, heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
You can have palliative care while still receiving curative and therapeutic care.
May include pain and symptom management, care coordination, help with insurance forms and options for care, assistance with advanced directions, etc.
Palliative care is provided by doctors, nurses, and other specialists
Who pays? Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance plans will often cover medical portions
Palliative care can be provided for as long as needed.
Hospice Care:
Hospice is comfort care without curative intent.
90% of hospice is paid through Medicare, as long as the patient meets the Medicare eligibility requirements.
When the prognosis is 6 months or less
Excludes curative treatment
Hospice is focused on providing comfort for an individual as they approach the end of life instead of curative care.
Hospice is for people facing terminal illness with a prognosis likely of six months or less based on the physician's estimate.
Hospice care focuses on quality of life when a cure is not possible or the burdens of treatment outweigh the benefits.
When a doctor thinks there are less than 6 months to live
The patient will not receive curative care or treatment
Includes pain and symptom management, emotional support, medications, medical supplies, coaching for caregivers, grief support, and special services like physical, occupational, and speech therapy when needed.
Medicare-qualified hospices provide a 24/7 call services
Assist in covering respite as needed for caregivers
Hospice can be initiated and continued so long as your doctor believes you likely have fewer than 6 months to live.
A patient can be discharged from hospice if their condition improves!
While the terms hospice and palliative care may initially cause fear or hesitation, they are, in reality, sources of compassionate support for those navigating life-limiting illnesses. Palliative care, emphasizing comfort and symptom relief, provides holistic assistance from the point of diagnosis through various stages of the disease, working in tandem with curative treatments. On the other hand, hospice care offers a comforting embrace when the focus shifts to quality of life in the terminal stages. Together, palliative and hospice care redefine the narrative, ensuring that every journey step is filled with comfort, compassion, and respect for personal choices.
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