Palliative Care

Hospice care is one of the areas in medicine that focuses on relieving the physical, emotional and psychological symptoms that terminally ill patients often have to cope with. Palliative care is the term used to refer to the area of healthcare in which the measures are being taken to prevent and relieve the pain of the patients. The difference between hospice care and palliative care is that hospice care is only given to patients in terminal stages of their disease. Palliative care on the other hand is designed for patients of all disease stages, including those who might be undergoing treatment for curable illnesses and those living with chronic conditions and including those who are nearing death.

There are different approaches to hospice care and palliative care in the world. For instance, in the United States the concept of the two are similar as following the same philosophy but they are in fact two different aspects of care because they do have different payment systems and location of services. Palliative care is, in the United States, most commonly provided in acute care hospitals and the services offered are often organized around an interdisciplinary consultation service which may or may not include an acute inpatient palliative care ward. Palliative care may be provided in the patient’s home as well, and this practice is considered a bridge between palliative care and hospice care, but it may very well be provided in a long-term care facility. However, over 80% of hospice care in the United States is provided in the patient’s own home and only the remaining 20% takes place in long-term care facilities.

The difference between palliative care and hospice care is not very noticeable in other parts f the world, such as in the UK where hospice care is seen as an integrative part of palliative care.