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The terms hospice and palliative care are sometimes used interchangeably, but this use is inaccurate and misleading. Because medical-surgical nurses are a vital source of information for patients and families with chronic and/or terminal disease, insight into the difference between hospice and palliative care will enable them to educate and support patients and families in exercising their autonomous choices during a very difficult time in their lives. Hospice is primarily for patients who are anticipated to die within 6 months (see Table 1). Any patient with a chronic condition can benefit from palliative care (National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization [NHPCO], n.d.).
Hospice is a model for quality, compassionate care at the end of life, involving a team-oriented approach of expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient's wishes. It is a way to deal realistically with a fatal disease by focusing on quality of life. Hospice is a family-oriented program that helps families and friends care for their loved one in a home. It is not a substitute for the family or the family's care. Hospice is most helpful during the final 6 months of life expectancy, supporting patients' right to know accurately and honestly what is happening to them so they can choose how to spend their remaining time in the most meaningful ways. It offers the hope of dignity and comfort. Hospice care usually is provided in the patient's home or in a home-like setting operated by a hospice program, although it also can be initiated in the hospital setting while preparing for the ideal discharge location. Hospice is not a resignation to hopelessness and helplessness. It is not a death bed-service for people in the last few days of life. Hospice services typically are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and many other insurance providers. Hospice neither hastens nor prolongs death; it lets nature take its course...