Frequently Asked Questions
Where is "hospice" located?
Is hospice only for cancer
patients?
What is the difference between a hospital and a
hospice?
When should a patient enter
hospice, and who should make the decision?
If a patient improves, can
he/she return to regular medical treatment?
What is the
difference between hospice and home health care?
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Where is
"hospice" located?
Hospice
is not a place, but a philosophy of care for people
with an incurable or life-limiting disease. When a
patient enters into hospice care, our team members
come to them to provide services, whether their
residence is a home, a nursing facility or a
hospital. Hospice care is provided most often in a
patient's home - the place where someone is most
comfortable and surrounded by friends, family and
familiar objects.
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Is hospice only for cancer
patients?
While
hospice was initially started for patients with
cancer, about 35% of all hospice care is now
provided to patients with other end-stage diseases,
such as lung, heart, renal and liver diseases,
dementia, stroke and AIDS.
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What is the difference between a hospital and a
hospice?
The hospice team's
goal is to address the physical, emotional and
spiritual needs of the patients and families in a
more relaxed environment. A hospital's goal is to
cure; hospice's goal is to provide palliative
(comfort-related) care that enables a patient to
live his or her final days as fully as possible,
surrounded by care, compassion and dignity.
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When should a patient enter
hospice, and who should make the decision?
At any
time during a life-limiting illness, it's
appropriate to discuss all of a patient's care
options including hospice. The patient and family
should feel free to discuss hospice care at any time
with their physician, other health care
professionals, clergy or friends. By law the
decision belongs to the patient. Understandably,
most people are uncomfortable with the idea of
stopping an all-out effort to "beat" their disease.
Hospice staff members are highly sensitive to these
concerns and are always available to discuss them
with the patient, family and physician.
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If a Patient Improves, Can He or
She Return to Regular Treatment?
Certainly. If improvement in the condition occurs
and the disease seems to be in remission, the
patient can be discharged from hospice and return to
aggressive therapy or go on about his or her daily
life. If a discharged patient should later need to
return to hospice care, Medicare and most private
insurance will allow additional coverage for this
purpose.
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What is the difference
between hospice and home health care?
Hospice care is often confused with traditional
"Home Health" services. In fact, they are quite
different!
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Hospice Care |
|
Home
Health Care |
■ Hospice
care is palliative (focused on symptom
management) and specializes in the care of
patients in the final stage of a
life-limiting illness and their families.
Hospice services usually increase with the
patient's declining health and the
subsequent rise in family stress, and are
unlimited in number. The nurse may visit for
unskilled, as well as skilled needs.
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■ Home
Health Care provides intermittent skilled
nursing and rehabilitative or restorative
therapies. The level of staff involvement
moves from more frequent to less frequent. |
■ Hospice
is reimbursed on a per diem (flat fee per
day) basis by Medicare and Medicaid. For a
patient to elect the hospice benefit, the
physician must certify that the patient is
terminally ill, with a life-expectancy of 6
months or less if the disease runs its
normal course.
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|
■ Home
Health Care is reimbursed per visit. Both
types of services fill a specific need -
only one is covered by Medicare or Medicaid
at a time. |
|
■ Hospice
utilizes an interdisciplinary team of
physicians, nurses, social workers,
chaplains, counselors, and volunteers to
support and educate both the patient and
family. |
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