The World Health Organization defines palliative care as " an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and the family facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness , through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems , physical , psychosocial and spiritual ." Palliative care is provided by an interdisciplinary team of experts that offer comprehensive care and support systems for patients and their health care providers , both at times of end of life and when they are undergoing treatments for advanced illness . Some patients near the end-of-life are being treated with curative treatments and others face disease process deterioration or exacerbations . Both benefit through outpatient palliative care measures that can be offered in the primary care provider ' s office and others benefit by inpatient consultation and management .
Three diseases , heart disease , cancer and stroke account for 60 % of the deaths in the United States . Most people live with some limitation in their ability for self-care for two to four years before they die . While sudden-death occurs in only 15 % of people , the predictable decline in patients with " terminal illness " cases of organ failure ( e . g ., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , heart failure , renal failure and other progressive serious medical diseases ) is associated with gradual decline with intermittent exacerbations . The time of death for these people with progressive and ultimately fatal diseases is not entirely predictable and often occurs unexpectedly . Additionally , the subset of patients who suffer from gradual decline or " frailty " where dementia is often present is associated with a lingering course . They can extend for many years , stressing and wearing out caregivers and other support systems as decline in functional abilities progress .
Distinction between Palliative and Hospice Care
The specialty of palliative medicine arose as a direct result of the hospice movement . Palliative medicine incorporates the holistic care developed by hospice , focusing on symptom management , supporting and assisting with communication and providing such care to a wider group of patient ' s including those who are not dying or who cannot receive or choose not to receive hospice services . Palliative care aims to relieve suffering in all stages of disease and is not limited to end-of-life care . Within an integrated model of medical care , palliative care is provided at the same time as curative or life-prolonging disease treatments . In contrast , hospice is palliative care that is offered to patients at the end of life when curative or life prolonging therapy is no longer beneficial or when the burden outweighs the benefit . All care delivered by hospice can be considered palliative care however , not all palliative care is delivered in hospice .
Palliative Care
Palliative care is provided by a specialized team of physicians , nurses and other medical caregivers who addressed more complex needs administering or oversee ongoing comfort care methods for patients who are seriously ill with focus on symptom management and reducing , refractory pain , stress and suffering as well as aspects of depression , anxiety , grief and existential distress thereby improving quality of life for people of any age and at any stage in a serious illness whether that illness is curable , chronic or life-threatening . Palliative care can be administered in conjunction with continued curative treatment if an individual is not ready or unwilling to discontinue such efforts . Additional assistance with conflict resolution regarding goals of treatment with family , issues between medical staff and families , and among treatment teams can be facilitated by the palliative care team . The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family . While palliative care can be administered in the home , it is most common to receive palliative care in an institution such as a hospital , extended care facility or nursing home that is associated with a palliative care team . The palliative care team can further assist in defining and addressing cases of near futility .
Hospice Care
Hospice care is care designed to provide support to a patient and their family during an advanced illness and focuses on comfort and quality of life , rather than cure at the end of life . A person must be considered terminal or within 6 months of death to be eligible for most hospice programs or to receive hospice benefits . Hospice programs concentrate on comfort rather than aggressive disease abatement . A patient can therefore , concentrate on getting the most out of life with the time they have left . Hospice can provide supplies and equipment seeking to improve the quality of life for patients while supporting the family helping to care for the patient . A wide range of hospice services including physical , psychological , social and spiritual support and counseling for family members with the goal of enabling a patient to have an alert , pain-free end of life and to live each day as fully as possible . Hospice provides " palliative care ".
Both palliative care and hospice care provide comfort but palliative care can begin at the time of diagnosis and at the same time as treatment . Hospice care however , begins after treatment of the disease has stopped and when it is clear that the person is not going to survive the illness .
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