Almost 1.4 million Americans who live with life-limiting illnesses receive hospice care. With November being National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, it’s time to know what hospice care and palliative care are and how they differ from each other.
Hospice care is not a place, although there are facilities that cater specially to hospice patients. Hospice programs provide compassionate, high-quality medical care to terminally ill patients. These also provide emotional and spiritual support, which patients and their families need most in this difficult time.
Like hospice programs, palliative services also provide medical care, including round-the-clock monitoring using medical sensors and machines, pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support, and spiritual care for people with serious or chronic conditions.
Any patient who is seriously ill may receive palliative care. On the other hand, hospice care, which is also known as end-of-life care, is only for people with life-limiting illnesses that have become advanced, progressive, and incurable.
With the official start of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, many hospice-care and palliative-care facilities are raising awareness about these two essential health-care services that improve the lives of many sick Americans.
If people with serious illnesses can receive the right care at the right time, many of them won’t need to undergo further medical treatments and procedures and will live longer lives. In the same way, if patients in their last stage of illness can receive compassionate medical care, they can live their remaining days with ease and comfort.
Learn everything you need to know about hospice care and palliative care in this detailed infographic.
