Seniors and Pain
Palliative Care and Hospice
People often get palliative care and hospice confused. Here is a primer to tell the two forms of care apart:
Who: Palliative care is appropriate for patients at any age, at any level of illness and at any time during the course of the illness regardless of prognosis. Palliative care is generally provided by a group of professionals including doctors, nurses, social workers and bereavement counselors. The team works both with each other and the patient’s primary care physician to ensure treatment is proceeding as planned.
What: Palliative care is not a treatment. Instead, it works to reduce the pain, symptoms and stress of illness while improving the lives of not just patients, but also family members and loved ones. It is conducted in addition to other medical procedures and treatments meant to bring about a cure, and can be modified to treat any patient’s special needs or wants. In some cases, it is used to address specific side effects of medical treatment, such as relieving the nausea common with chemotherapy.
When: Palliative care can be helpful to patients at any time during the course of their illness, including immediately after the diagnosis.
Where: Palliative care can be provided wherever the patient lives – at home or an assisted care facility, nursing home or a hospital.
Why: The goal of palliative care is to both improve a patient’s quality of life and comfort levels as well as reduce the symptoms of illness so that he or she can recuperate or heal. Palliative care also helps patients cope with the physical and emotional side effects of some medical treatment. Palliative care workers can work with patients and family members to help them better understand, evaluate and choose treatment options and more effectively navigate and use the health care system.
Who: Patients who receive hospice care generally have a life expectancy of six months or less. Hospice care is provided by a group of specialized professionals which may include doctors, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, massage therapists, volunteers and the like, who are trained in hospice caregiving and pain management treatments. Most patients in need of hospice care can receive it under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, through private insurance plans or Medicaid.
What: In the United States, hospice care is essentially palliative care for people who are terminally ill and who do not wish to continue curative treatments. It addresses all symptoms of the illness, but is particularly focused on managing a patient’s pain and discomfort. Patients receiving hospice should expect professional and compassionate medical care as well as a lessening of symptoms related to his or her illness. Hospice also involves families in care decisions, providing emotional and spiritual counseling to prepare for death and can also provide respite care (time off for caregivers). Unlike palliative care, hospice is a Medicare Part A benefit, which means enrollment in hospice programs (and the programs themselves) is overseen by the federal government.
When: Hospice care is reserved for patients who have a life expectancy of six months or less and whose doctor has determined that the patient will no longer benefit from curative treatment.
Where: Hospice is usually provided in the patient’s home, but can also be given at inpatient hospice clinics, assisted living facilities, nursing homes or hospitals.
Why: Founded to give comfort and support to patients and families during difficult times, hospice operates with the belief that every person has the right to die a dignified and pain-free death with family and friends nearby.
Palliative Care
Who: Palliative care is appropriate for patients at any age, at any level of illness and at any time during the course of the illness regardless of prognosis. Palliative care is generally provided by a group of professionals including doctors, nurses, social workers and bereavement counselors. The team works both with each other and the patient’s primary care physician to ensure treatment is proceeding as planned.
What: Palliative care is not a treatment. Instead, it works to reduce the pain, symptoms and stress of illness while improving the lives of not just patients, but also family members and loved ones. It is conducted in addition to other medical procedures and treatments meant to bring about a cure, and can be modified to treat any patient’s special needs or wants. In some cases, it is used to address specific side effects of medical treatment, such as relieving the nausea common with chemotherapy.
When: Palliative care can be helpful to patients at any time during the course of their illness, including immediately after the diagnosis.
Where: Palliative care can be provided wherever the patient lives – at home or an assisted care facility, nursing home or a hospital.
Why: The goal of palliative care is to both improve a patient’s quality of life and comfort levels as well as reduce the symptoms of illness so that he or she can recuperate or heal. Palliative care also helps patients cope with the physical and emotional side effects of some medical treatment. Palliative care workers can work with patients and family members to help them better understand, evaluate and choose treatment options and more effectively navigate and use the health care system.
Hospice Care
Who: Patients who receive hospice care generally have a life expectancy of six months or less. Hospice care is provided by a group of specialized professionals which may include doctors, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, massage therapists, volunteers and the like, who are trained in hospice caregiving and pain management treatments. Most patients in need of hospice care can receive it under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, through private insurance plans or Medicaid.
What: In the United States, hospice care is essentially palliative care for people who are terminally ill and who do not wish to continue curative treatments. It addresses all symptoms of the illness, but is particularly focused on managing a patient’s pain and discomfort. Patients receiving hospice should expect professional and compassionate medical care as well as a lessening of symptoms related to his or her illness. Hospice also involves families in care decisions, providing emotional and spiritual counseling to prepare for death and can also provide respite care (time off for caregivers). Unlike palliative care, hospice is a Medicare Part A benefit, which means enrollment in hospice programs (and the programs themselves) is overseen by the federal government.
When: Hospice care is reserved for patients who have a life expectancy of six months or less and whose doctor has determined that the patient will no longer benefit from curative treatment.
Where: Hospice is usually provided in the patient’s home, but can also be given at inpatient hospice clinics, assisted living facilities, nursing homes or hospitals.
Why: Founded to give comfort and support to patients and families during difficult times, hospice operates with the belief that every person has the right to die a dignified and pain-free death with family and friends nearby.