The Difference Between Palliative Care and Hospice Both palliative care and hospice care provide comfort. But palliative care can begin at diagnosis, and at the same time as treatment. Hospice care begins after treatment of the disease is stopped and when it is clear that the person is not going to survive the illness.

Types of Palliative Care

• Areas where palliative care can help. Palliative treatments vary widely and often include:
• Social.
• Emotional.
• Spiritual.
• Mental.
• Financial.
• Physical.
• Palliative care after cancer treatment.

Palliative care is for people of any age who have been diagnosed with a serious illness that cannot be cured. This includes children and young people, adults and the elderly. When you start palliative care depends on the stage of your illness. You may need to start palliative care not long after getting your diagnosis.

You can also have palliative care alongside treatments, therapies and medicines aimed at controlling your illness, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. However, palliative care does include caring for people who are nearing the end of life – this is sometimes called end of life care.

With a palliative approach, symptoms such as shortness of breath are treated, while treatment for the pneumonia itself may or may not be given. The change of focus can come from the patient, or it can be determined by the illness.

Principles

• Principle 1: Care is patient, family and carer centred.
• Principle 2: Care provided is based on assessed need.
• Principle 3: Patients, families and carers have access to local and networked services to meet their needs.
• Principle 4: Care is evidence-based, clinically and culturally safe and effective.

You may start palliative care at any stage of your illness, even as soon as you receive a diagnosis and begin treatment. You don’t have to wait until your disease has reached an advanced stage or when you’re in the final months of life. In fact, the earlier you start palliative care, the better.

Medical Definition of palliative (Entry 2 of 2) : something that reduces the severity of a disease or condition without curing it.

Palliative care focuses on relieving from suffering and the patient may or may not be terminally ill, whereas hospice is the care given to terminally ill patients with a prognosis of six months or less to live.

Palliative care is the treatment of physical or mental pain without curing the cause whereas hospice care is the type of care that focuses on attending to a seriously ill patient’s pain and symptoms and their emotional and spiritual needs.

In fact, hospice is considered a form of palliative care. However, receiving palliative care doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in hospice. To qualify for hospice care, a doctor has to estimate that…

What is the Difference in Hospice vs. Palliative Care? The primary difference in hospice care compared to palliative care is that hospice is for patients with a limited lifespan . In fact, hospice care is a type of palliative care – given to address the unique needs of people with terminal illness and their families. Both palliative and hospice care help patients living with a variety of medical conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, dementia, stroke, and many others.