Choosing Between Hospice Care & Palliative Care In Georgia

The doctor must be assured that the hospital-based palliative care team integrates holistic treatment at its very heart, including maintaining physical comfort for the patient, offering emotional and psychological support, and promoting joint decision-making.

However, the patient's physicians should also be assured that the hospital-based palliative care team can coordinate treatment through different care environments and include the patient and family as necessary. A candid prognostic dialog is of paramount importance, since communication bridges the gap between the needs of the patient and the expertise of the doctor.

What to expect from Palliative Care in Hospital.

The doctor will expect the hospital based palliative care team to do the following.

Symptom palliation based on evidence, and psychological support.

Shared decision making which supports the patient as well as the family or caregiver.

Dignity, and respect for the cultural values of the patient.

Practical, emotional and legal help for patients and their families.

Coordination of care across the Health Care environment that helps patients move seamlessly from one setting to another (e.g., from hospital to home).

After patients have completed all treatments and have a prognosis of six months or less, the hospital-based palliative care team will work closely with the local hospice organizations.

I find that when interacting with doctors, patients and families who have been seeking Hospice care in recent months, everyone appreciates an organized approach to health care that helps guide the patient to manage the program, providing adequate treatment at each point.

A hospice nurse in the hospital-based palliative team will decide when the patient may benefit more from hospice care and lobby for those services for the patient and his or her family.

Hospice-Based Palliative Care

Patients who are not admitted or currently undergoing care can still seek the pain and device control skills of the hospice nurse. Many hospices provide patients with limited support who are not yet eligible for hospice care or who are not emotionally prepared for hospice care.

These are non-refunded services provided by the hospices as community outreach. Medicare stipulates that all curative measures must be exhausted, and all therapies must be completed before patients have access to benefits from hospice care.

So an early hospice referral for these services from the hospital-based palliative team can establish and foster a caring relationship with the case manager and the patient before any hospice care is actually required.

Establishing this partnership and having an early referral to the hospice helps ease patient and family concerns, and encourages a report to be established in the event that patient access hospice services are available at a later date.

How to Choose a Quality Hospice Agency

Owing to patient preference and disease history, doctors who decide it is time for a hospice referral may wonder how to pick a professional hospice organisation. Not all hospices are built in the same way: some are very fine, some are really nice. But there are criteria for evaluating high-quality hospice services, such as selecting a hospital-based palliative care team.