What is the difference between palliative care and hospice?
Palliative care supports seriously ill patients from the point of diagnosis throughout the course of their illness. It may be provided concurrent with other medical treatment, including curative treatment. Hospice focuses on providing supportive care for patients who are at the end-of-life and are no longer receiving curative treatment. “While hope for a miracle cure may not be evident in hospice philosophy,” states Jay Mahoney, former president of the National Hospice Foundation, “hospice care can be an extraordinary expression of hope and individual courage.” This philosophy of hope for compassion, meaning and quality of life at the end is at the heart of the hospice movement. Other questions? Sources Hospice of the Carolinas Hospice Web Hospice of the Panhandle, Inc.
Palliative care and hospice are not the same. Both provide care that emphasizes patient goals, relief of pain and suffering, and quality of life, but hospice focuses on end-of-life care needs. Palliative care can be of benefit earlier in the course of the illness when no defined prognosis is established and the patient is still seeking curative therapies. Hospice provides care to a patient and who has a terminal diagnosis with a life expectancy of about six months or less, and is no longer seeking life-prolonging care. Palliative care and hospice often work together, helping patients and families on their journey near the end of life.
