What is Hospice and Palliative Medicine?
Palliative care refers to any medical care that focuses on treating a patient's symptoms, such as pain, rather than directly addressing the underlying disease. Hospice care is a specific kind of palliative care that aims to make patients more comfortable at the end of their lives. Although hospice care and palliative care are two distinct medical specialties with their own definitions, they are very closely related to each other. Palliative care can technically be used at any stage of life; however when most people use the term palliative care, they are referring to hospice care -- making a terminally ill patient more comfortable when there is nothing more that medicine can do to treat their illness. Hospice medicine is professional medical care for patients in the last 6 months or less of their lives. The aim of hospice is to provide quality of life rather than quantity and to make the patient and family as comfortable and supported as possible as they prepare for the natural process of death. Hospice care is provided wherever the patient lives, whether that is at the patient's home, in a nursing home, in a hospital, or in some cases a center run by the hospice. Care is provided by a team of professionals, which usually includes:- Doctors
- Nurses
- Social workers
- Therapists or counselors
- Chaplains, pastors, priests, imams, or other clergy
- Volunteers, who help with day-to-day tasks
Search for Hospice and Palliative Medicine (End-of-Life Care and Serious Illness) near you.