Must a patient be actively dying in the last few days of life in order to enroll in a hospice program?
A. No. Patients derive the most benefit from a hospice program when they enroll as early in the course of a terminal disease as possible. This allows the hospice staff to more successfully control pain and other symptoms that affect the patient’s quality of life. Early enrollment allows time to thoroughly assess the patient’s and family’s needs and to put in place a range of supportive services such as nutritional and dietary counseling. Medicare certified hospices accept patients when a physician’s best judgment, the patient has 6 months or less to live is the disease runs its expected course. Enrolling in hospice as soon after such a diagnosis as possible gives the patient and the physician the best chance of safeguarding the patient’s quality of life.
