Palliative Care vs. Hospice Care

When you are faced with the decision of choosing whether palliative care or hospice care best suits the needs of you, or your loved ones; it’s best to know the definition and relationship between the two before deciding.

Palliative care focuses on relieving symptoms that are related to a chronic illness, such as cancer, cardiac disease, respiratory disease, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s and other dementias, AIDS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and other neurological diseases. Palliative care can be used at any stage of illness –not just advanced stages.

Hospice care is palliative by nature, but is only offered when the patient has progress to a point where curative treatment is no longer desired. Hospice care supports the patient, and their families, on the journey to end of life focusing on relieving symptoms and offering comfort from pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, anxiety and insomnia.

Although there are differences between palliative care and hospice care, there is a relationship between the two. Knowing the treatment differences and similarities may be helpful when making your decision, including:

• Treatments are not limited with palliative care and can range from conservative to aggressive or curative.
• Hospice care treatments are limited and focus on the palliation of symptoms. The goal is no longer to cure, but to promote comfort.
• Palliative care can be considered at any time during the course of a chronic illness.
• With hospice care, Medicare requires that a physician certify that a patient’s condition is terminal. The physician must certify that a patient’s life expectancy is six months or less.
• Both palliative and hospice care can be delivered at any location.
• Palliative care services are typically provided through regular physician and nursing visits.
• Hospice care services are more inclusive than palliative care services. Hospice care includes physician services, nursing services, social worker, spiritual care, bereavement care and volunteers. In some cases physical, occupational, speech and dietary therapy services, as well as other counseling services are deemed necessary as part of the hospice holistic care plan to manage terminal symptoms and provide support for the individual and their family.

It is important to know that choosing palliative care or hospice care is about comfort, control, dignity and quality of life, not about giving up. If you, or a loved one should need information on palliative or hospice care, the Maureen Russo Hospice Unit at Flushing Hospital Medical Center provides patients and their families comfort care in a quiet and relaxing, home-like environment. For more information about the Maureen Russo Hospice Unit at Flushing Hospital, please call 718-670-8900.