What is Palliative Care? How is it different from Hospice Care?
While both provide effective symptom management during the patient’s serious illness and the goal of both is to keep the patient out of the hospital, palliative and hospice care are different. Palliative Care focuses on providing relief of the symptoms and stresses that a patient and their family experience with a serious illness. In addition, we provide education to help our patient understand their disease process, treatment options and develop goals of care. St. Anthony’s Palliative Care is provided in the patient’s home, apartment, or assisted living facility. We work with our patient, their provider(s), and their specialist(s) to develop a care plan to provide relief of the symptoms and stresses that the patient may face.
While all of the above sounds the same as hospice, let’s point out a few differences. Palliative Care is not hospice care. While both palliative and hospice use a team of experts to manage symptoms and improve quality of life, palliative care can be used with traditional, curative treatments. You read that right! Adding palliative care with home health, chemotherapy, radiation, dialysis, and other curative options for your serious illness(es) can improve quality of life. Hospice care is provided when the main focus is comfort care, and is not provided at the same time as curative options. Hospice care begins when a cure is not attainable and with a life expectancy of 6 months or less, should a disease run its normal course.
Does having a referral to palliative or hospice care mean the physician is giving up on the patient? NO! If a physician refers a patient into palliative or hospice care, he/she is wanting the patient to have the best quality of life possible. Providers trust the comfort, symptom management, and physical, emotional, and spiritual care and support that our team of end-of-life care experts provides. They refer to St. Anthony’s Hospice and Palliative Care to ensure their patients can be as comfortable as possible.
If you have questions about St. Anthony’s palliative or hospice programs or think you or a loved one would benefit, please call us today at (270) 826-2326.
