Palliative and hospice care: similar but not the same

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. Although people tend to use the terms interchangeably, palliative care and hospice care are in fact two different things. While hospice care is always palliative care, palliative care isn’t always hospice care. Though both types of treatment plans provide comfort to patients with serious illnesses, there are important differences.

What is palliative care?
Contrary to popular belief, receiving this type of treatment isn’t a death sentence. The primary goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life of people diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening illness.

This medical specialty concentrates on relieving the physical and psychological symptoms of a serious disease and the potentially difficult side effects of its treatment. Palliative care can begin as soon as a person receives their diagnosis and continue as they undergo curative treatment for the illness.

What is hospice care?
Hospice care is the continuation of palliative care after attempts to cure the illness have stopped. Even though the afflicted person won’t recover, he or she will continue to receive treatments to manage symptoms. Usually people begin to receive hospice care when their doctor believes they have no more than six months to live.

Hospice care can be given to people whether they live at home, in a hospital or in an assisted living facility. They will be able to live out the remainder of their days in peace and comfort. If they’re still in their home, family members will be given the support they require to provide day-to-day care.

For more information about hospice and palliative care, visit www.nhpco.org.