To Your Health: Hospice different from palliative care

Palliative care and hospice care are terms often linked by their similarities, but there are key differences between these types of care.

Knowing the difference between these types of care can help you determine what kind of care you want and need, or to support loved ones seeking additional care options.

They are alike in their goals to make patients more comfortable in times of illness and to help patients and their families through chronic or life-threatening conditions. And even though they are both focused on the physical and emotional pain that accompany a person’s illness, there are some important distinctions we’ll look at today.

Palliative care focuses on improving a person’s quality of life at any age or stage of their illness. This can help patients manage symptoms while continuing aggressive medical interventions, because everyone deserves to be treated for their symptoms regardless of whether their condition is curable.

Palliative care can help with conditions like cancer, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dementia, emphysema, kidney disease, Parkinson’s disease and stroke among others.

Services included in the palliative-care spectrum also cater to a person’s psychological, social and spiritual needs to provide as much physical and emotional relief as possible during a serious illness.

Palliative care doesn’t limit or impact a person receiving treatment to cure an illness. Rather, it works together with curative treatment options. And a palliative care team does not replace a person’s health care team; they partner with health care providers to coordinate care.

Hospice programs are designed to give the best quality of life to a person with limited life expectancy. People are generally eligible for hospice if an illness is life-limiting up to six months.

Hospice care can be delivered at homes, hospitals or hospice centers where trained staff tend to a patient, usually after the patient’s family has selected this care service.

More than 95 percent of hospice care is delivered at home, because people tend to feel most comfortable in their homes. A hospice team typically consists of nurses, home health aides, social workers, chaplains, therapists and a physician who provide 24/7 support with scheduled visits to assess a person’s needs.

Although they’re distinct forms of care, palliative and hospice care do overlap. Essentially, all hospice care is palliative, but not all palliative care is hospice.

Hospice care can be considered a subset of palliative care. A person may receive palliative care when they are first diagnosed. When a person’s condition progresses or treatments can no longer improve quality of life, support services may change to include hospice care.

If you face a life-threatening diagnosis, talk to you doctor about care options. Choosing to discuss palliative care support programs can help a person and their family feel better physically and emotionally while navigating a serious, advancing illness. In these challenging times of severe anxiety and stress, with so many things to attend to, palliative and hospice services can provide much needed support, relief and comfort.

Dr. Alfred Casale, a cardiothoracic surgeon, is chief medical officer for surgical services for Geisinger and chair of the Geisinger Heart and Vascular Institute. Readers may write to him via ae@timesleader.com.