Myths and Facts
Myth: Palliative care and hospice care are the same. Fact: Palliative care and hospice care do not mean the same thing. This section, and the various agencies listed in the Resources section below, can help you understand the differences between palliative and hospice care.
Myth: Palliative care starts at the time of“ terminal” diagnosis. Fact: Palliative care can start upon diagnosis of a serious, chronic illness like PSP, CBD, or MSA, or at any time throughout a patient’ s disease progression.
Myth: Medicare covers hospice but not palliative care. Fact: Medicare pays all hospice costs. Depending on your Medicare benefits and medical treatments, Medicare can also pay for palliative care. It is important that you or your healthcare provider check with your insurance carrier regarding your benefits.
Myth: Palliative care does not permit medical, rehabilitation, or curative treatment. Fact: Palliative care allows for symptom relief and also for tests, curative treatments, and therapies for disability. Hospice permits the patient to receive symptom relief( such as blood pressure or pain medications) but does not authorize the patient to receive curative or life-prolonging treatments. In some cases, patients enrolled in hospice may still receive a treatment typically thought of as life-prolonging( such as chemotherapy) when the purpose of that treatment is to bring comfort, not to extend life. Make sure that you, and your physician, understand these distinctions as they apply to your particular case.
Myth: Palliative care occurs at home, while hospice care is provided in a facility. Fact: Both palliative and hospice care can be provided wherever a person resides— in their own home, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home. In addition, some hospitals have palliative care teams, while some hospices offer the option of stand-alone hospice facilities. Talk with your doctor or social worker about the best choice for you.
27
Myth: Hospice provides full-time care at the end of life. Fact: Family members, paid caregivers, or the staff of a facility( assisted living or nursing home) give daily care to patients who are on hospice. The hospice team recommends and sets up a schedule for its staff— the hospice nurse, social worker, chaplain, volunteers, and others— to see the patient. If a person has chosen to die at home, meaning that family and friends are providing the hands-on daily care, hospice team members teach the lay people how to care for the dying person. Someone from the hospice team is always available by phone.
Similarities Between Palliative Care and Hospice Care
BOTH are specialized care for people with serious illnesses.
BOTH require a physician’ s order. The order is not for hospice per se; rather, it is for a hospice evaluation. A member of the hospice team— usually a nurse, sometimes the hospice physician— meets with the patient and family to explain hospice and to determine if the patient meets the admission criteria. If the patient and family find out that the patient is eligible, they can then decide whether or not they will take that route. In other words, choosing palliative or hospice care is a step-by-step, joint decision-making process involving hospice, the patient and family, and someone from the patient’ s healthcare team— physician, nurse, social worker.