Palliative Vs. Hospice Care: Understanding The Differences

Palliative care and hospice provide symptom relief, comfort, and family support to people with serious illness or injury.

What Is Palliative Care?

Palliative care is for anyone with a serious illness or injury, regardless of age. A team of doctors, nurses, social workers, spiritual advisors, and volunteers work with you, your family, and primary physicians to coordinate your care.

Care consists of managing your symptoms while you receive curative treatment. It can be administered at any stage of illness but is best administered at diagnosis. Your team attends to your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs based on your input.

You may require palliative care if you have:

• Pulmonary conditions
• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Dementia

Where Is Palliative Care Available?

You can receive palliative care in hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, or at home. Care is available for short- and long-term periods. Costs may be covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance, depending on your policy.

What Is Hospice Care?

Hospice is a type of palliative care for people who require end-of-life services. It’s usually administered when curative treatment is no longer an option or a patient forgoes treatment.

Hospice is recommended for people who have up to six months to live should the illness run its natural course. Like palliative care, hospice provides a specialized team of nurses, doctors, and other specialists to manage your care and support you and your family. Hospice staff visit regularly and are available by phone 24/7.

Where Can I Receive Hospice Care?

Hospice is not specific to a particular facility. You can receive care in a nursing home or assisted living facility, in the hospital, at a designated hospice facility, or home. The hospice team will train at-home caretakers to administer care like pain management. Only Medicare and some private insurance companies cover hospice costs.

Benefits Of Palliative And Hospice Care

Both palliative care and hospice provide coordination to manage your treatment and symptoms. Those who seek hospice care are more likely to manage pain symptoms effectively. Palliative care offers a better quality of life, and your team can help you understand your medical options as you seek treatment.

Palliative care may transition to hospice and is only administered if you require it. Grief services are also available, so you and your family have peace of mind as you cope with the transition.

Contact Embassy Healthcare online or call 888-975-1379 to learn more about palliative and hospice services at our locations across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida.