Posts made in August, 2020

When someone we love is almost dying and has a prognosis of a few months, it is normal for us to feel bad, but it is also our responsibility to provide them with the care they need and deserve. And one of the ways to tend to their needs is to hire palliative and hospice Albuquerque service. 

A lot of people confused the two terms, while some of the people tend not to confuse themselves and use the terms interchangeably. However, the two terms actually do have distinctions when it comes to what they provide and the nature of their work.  

One of the distinctions is that hospice care is mostly provided by the Medicare hospice benefit so more than 90 percent of patients are paid by Medicare. This means that a patient needs to have the qualifications that Medicare has, while palliative care does not have the same requirements.  

What are the Distinctions Between Palliative and Hospice Care? 

The two services have the same goal, which is to provide care to the patient and make their lives as comfortable as possible while providing to their medical need. However, the prognosis and goals of the care are different when it comes to hospice care. Palliative care provides comfort with or without curative intent, while hospice care has no curative intent. This means that the patient has no longer any options left to cure the illness and that the disease or illness is already terminal. This is the reason why hospice care tends to be more focused on the emotional and/or spiritual matters while still providing medical attention to the patient.  

The palliative care eligibility will begin with the discretion of the physician and patient any time, at any kind of illness. The illness or disease could be terminal or not, curative or noncurative. The hospice eligibility will require at least two physicians’ prognosis and certification that the patient only has less than six months to live. This means that the patient is already terminal. 

Where can these services take place? 

Palliative care mainly works in the hospital while hospice care is mostly at home, although it can also be provided in hospitals and nursing homes. Both of these services provide the needed tools, medicine, and equipment that the patent may need.  

There are main characteristics of a person who avails for palliative care and these are the following: 

• The patient cannot avail for a hospice care 

• The patient is convinced that there is no cure to her disease 
• The patient has limited ability to take care of himself 

When you know someone who is experiencing nearing death, it is important to give them what they want especially when the disease has no cure anymore. Although one can be in palliative care, the person can be transferred to hospice care when he/she already has at least six months of life expectancy due to his/her disease.  

Thanks for these services, our loved ones are provided the needed care especially that they need to feel loved and cared for in their remaining days. When you know a loved one who is terminally ill, it is important to call for this service.