What is Hospice and Palliative Care – pro

Since there is no Medicare regulation that specifies what treatments are deemed palliative, it is up to the individual hospice agency to determine whether or not they can financially and philosophically provide the interventions listed below. These interventions range from low cost-low tech (hydration via clysis) to high cost-high tech (multi-agent chemotherapy). With the exception of very large hospice agencies that have a substantial financial base, most agencies will not provide high-cost interventions; patients may elect to be discharged from hospice care if they wish to pursue these options.

It is important to realize that hospice is a program that delivers palliative care and that palliative care can be provided outside hospice. As such, hospice care is not a medical intervention. The goals of hospice intervention is to provide support for the patient and family and to enable “the good death”. This is an inherently vague goal and one that cannot be proved in clinical trials.

Keeping this in mind, conventional madical interventions are potentially indicated in patients with a) good functional status (up, out of bed > 50% of the time; KPS >50; ECOG 0-2) and/or b) a clear goal to be met (e.g. wedding anniversary in two weeks). These interventions are not indicated solely to assist patients or families psychologically cope with impending death – to give the impression that something is being done. In other words, the goal of hospice is to co-ordinate care, provide psychological support, bereavement counselling and spiritual support to patient and family but not to continue care that is futile. Hospice serices by defintion require a prolonged period of time and hospice is generally ineffective if it comes in at the point that the dying process has already began.

Hsu SH, Wang SY. Trends in Provision of Palliative Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy Among Hospices in the United States, 2011-2018. JAMA Oncol 2020.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), palliative care is defined as the active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment. The term palliative care often incorrectly is used interchangeably with hospice care, and its goal is to ensure that the patient and family achieve the best possible quality of life. The essential components of palliative care are effective control of symptoms and effective communication with patients, their families, and others involved in their care. This can be done on a hospice or outside it.

Inpatient hospices can be used for hospitalization until death or as short -term placement until a home hospice can be arranged. Hospice can also be provided in SNF settings.

Rehabilitation, with the aim of maximising independence, is also essential to good care. As a disease progresses, continuity of care becomes increasingly important—coordination between services is required, and information must be transferred promptly and efficiently between professionals in the community, in hospitals, and in hospices.

Billings JA (2008). Care of dying patients and their families. In L Goldman, D Ausiello, eds., Cecil Medicine, 23rd ed., pp. 11–16. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.

Cordts GA, et al. (2007). Care at the end of life. In LR Barker et al., eds., Principles of Ambulatory Medicine, 7th ed., pp. 192–207. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Sadock BJ, et al. (2007). Death, dying, and bereavement. In Kaplan and Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry, 10th ed., pp. 61–69. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Hospice Eligibility and Election: Does Policy Prepare Us to Meet the Need? Journal of Aging & Social Polic 27, Issue 4, 2015

Zisook S, et al. (2009). Hospice and palliative care. In BJ Sadock et al., eds., Kaplan and Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 9th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2390–2391. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Arnold R (2012). Care of dying patients and their families. In L Goldman, A Shafer, eds., Goldman’s Cecil Medicine, 24th ed., pp. 9-15. Philadelphia: Saunders.Carney MT, Smith LN (2009). Symptom management in palliative medicine. In EG Nabel, ed., ACP Medicine, Clinical Essentials, chap. 10.

Hamilton, ON: BC Decker.Emanuel EJ, et al. (2008). Palliative and end-of-life care. In AS Fauci et al., eds., Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 17th ed., vol. 1, pp. 66-80. New York: McGraw-Hill.Rakel RE, Strauch EM (2011).

Care of the dying patient. In RE Rakel, DP Rakel, eds., Textbook of Family Medicine, 8th ed., pp. 53-72. Philadelphia: Saunders.

Posted by on March 14, 2007 | Permalink|Comments (0)|TrackBack (0)

Participate in our Forums

To ask questions or participate in a discussion, please visit our Forums. You must LOGIN to participate.

Help Us Help Others

You can become a Site Sponsor. Or you may wish to support our work with a Donation.

Focused Articles For You

Lay Portal

Professional