Hospice vs palliative care: Do you know the difference?

Palliative care and hospice both provide comprehensive comfort care and support for the family. However, these types of care serve different types of patients.

Palliative care is a resource for anyone living with a serious illness who is receiving medical care for their symptoms along with curative treatment. Palliative care can be helpful at any stage of illness and is best provided from the point of diagnosis. Palliative care can also help patients understand their choices for medical treatment. The organized services available through palliative care may be helpful to any older person having a lot of general discomfort and disability very late in life.

Hospice provides comprehensive comfort care as well as support for the family when attempts to cure the person’s illness have stopped. Hospice is provided for a person with a terminal illness whose doctor believes he or she has 6 months or less to live if the illness runs its natural course. Hospice is an approach to care, so it is not tied to a specific place. It can be offered in two types of settings—at home or in a facility such as a nursing home, hospital, or even in a separate hospice center.

Visit our website to learn more about hospice and palliative care as well as how to make advance care plans.