Hospice care and palliative care are both synonymous with comfort, but there are important differences. Understanding these differences and understanding the importance of palliative care will ensure the seriously ill receive the right level of care at the right time so they can make the most of each day they have.
Navigating the healthcare system, elder care options, and community resources can be confusing in the best of times and almost impossible when someone is already dealing with a serious illness.
The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) estimates that ninety million Americans are living with serious illnesses such as cancer, heart failure, or kidney disease – and that six million of them could benefit from palliative care.
It’s hard to see a loved one in pain – especially after they’ve received a difficult diagnosis. There’s never an easy time to come to terms with someone you love being sick, but there are ways to treat symptoms and side effects in order to make life easier in their time of need.
Palliative care in US hospitals has risen steadily over the past 16 years, with more than three-quarters of the nation’s hospitals and health systems offering programs, according to a recent report from the Center to Advance Palliative Care. However, many who would most benefit from palliative care simply don’t have access to it, which can ultimately diminish patients’ quality of life while simultaneously driving up healthcare costs.
Both hospice and palliative care present an enormous number of challenges for clinicians and patients alike. From facilitating difficult conversations to managing grief and emotional distress to the specific nuances of determining what is right for any given patient, the list goes on.
