Palliative Care Versus Hospice Care

Palliative care often gets confused with hospice care. While they provide similar services, they are quite different from one another.

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is specialized medical care that aims to reduce pain and improve a person's quality of life. Palliative care is added to an existing treatment plan to provide more relief and support. Palliative care helps to:^1,2

1. Improve quality of life
2. Relieve suffering from symptoms and stress
3. Match treatment options with your goals

Palliative care is available for people with a variety of illnesses, such as:²

• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Lung diseases like COPD and cystic fibrosis
• Kidney failure
• Neurologic diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's
• HIV/AIDS
• ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)

Palliative care addresses physical problems like pain, trouble sleeping, or nausea. It can help with emotional and coping issues as well. A palliative care team works with your doctor and can provide:²

• Medicine
• Nutritional support
• Physical therapy
• Integrative therapies like acupuncture or massage
• Counseling and support groups

Palliative care can begin at diagnosis and be part of a person's overall treatment plan.²

What is hospice care?

Hospice care is for people who are facing a life-threatening illness. It is for people near the end of their life with about 6 months to live.³

Hospice care does not aim to treat a condition, only the symptoms. It focuses on:³

1. Providing comfort and relief from pain
2. Support for the person in need, as well as their family and loved ones
3. Letting the illness run its natural course, while managing pain and symptoms

Hospice services depend on a person's specific needs. They may include:^2,3

• Managing pain
• Providing medical equipment and medicines
• Driving to and from doctor's appointments
• Personal care like bathing, dressing, housekeeping, etc.
• Emotional and spiritual support
• Giving advice for caregivers
• Grief support and counseling

The similarities

Palliative care and hospice care provide some similar services. They both provide:^2,3

• Comfort and relief from pain
• Support for family and caregivers
• Advice and guidance on how to care for loved ones at home

People can choose where they want to receive palliative care and hospice care. They can receive them:³

1. At home
2. At a healthcare facility
3. In a nursing home
4. In the hospital

The differences

With palliative care, a person can continue to treat their condition. For example, a person with cancer can receive palliative care services while getting chemotherapy. Palliative care provides comfort while a person continues treatment.¹

Hospice care is for people who are not responding to treatment. They are at the end stage of life. When a person begins hospice care, therapies used to treat their condition stop. Hospice care does not aim to treat a condition, only the symptoms.³

Which one is right for you?

If you live with a chronic condition and want to manage pain and get support, palliative care may be right for you. Talk with your healthcare team about services you could benefit from. Ask whether your health insurance covers these services.

For life-threatening conditions in which a person is near the end of their life, doctors may suggest hospice. Medicare covers most hospice services. Hospice care provides compassionate and high-quality care at the end of a person's life. Talk with your doctor about your options.³