Palliative care
PATH Program (Palliative Approach to Health)
What is palliative care?
If you need palliative care, does that mean you’re dying?
Palliative care gives you a chance to live your life more comfortably.
Is palliative care the same as hospice?
NO , the two are not the same. Hospice and palliative care both focus on quality of life, and a person receiving hospice services will receive palliative care (pain management, emotional support, and so on). However, the use and scope of hospice is limited to the end of life.
Here are some points illustrating the difference between palliative care and hospice:
- You can receive palliative care at any stage of life, and even for many years at a stretch. Hospice care is reserved for people who are not expected to live longer than 6 months.
- Palliative care can be given temporarily, to people who will go on to recover. Hospice is specifically focused on comfort at the end of life.
- Palliative care may be combined with treatment designed to cure illness or prolong life. A perso n receiving hospice services does not receive this type of medical treatment.
Palliative care strives to provide you with:
- Team - based approach. The team will include you and your family, your current doctor and care providers, and specialists in palliative care.
- Specialized knowledge and experience. Palliative care specialists can address the more complex problems that come with a serious illness.
- Improved coordination and communication. As you probably know, a medical problem can make life complicated . Palliative care can help make your care and your life - more organized and less confusing.
- Alignment with your desires and priorities. Palliative care gives you and your family a chance to reflect on your goals. It can also help ensure that the care you r eceive matches your current needs and values. Your Devoted palliative care team will never assume to know what kind of care you want — the team will talk in depth with you and your family to make sure you are guiding care at every point.
- Focus on quality of life in all areas. Your life is more than your medical problems or your treatment. From practical concerns to spiritual needs, a Devoted palliative care team can help you and your family feel less overwhelmed. You can focus on what’s most important to you.
Who is on the Devoted palliative care team?
- Physician specialist: This doctor has received specialized training in palliative care. He or she can serve as a resource to your other doctors about the best course of treatment and help ensure that you understand your condition and are involved in care plans.
- Nurse practioner or registered nurse: This person may be the first member of your palliative care team you meet. With special training in palliative care, this team member can help with goal setting, family meetings, advance care planning, and any other needs. A nurse practitioner may have expanded responsibility for medication and symptom management.
- Social worker: A Devoted palliative care social worker is licensed in social work and has training to help meet the social and psychological needs of patients and famil ies. She or he can also help coordinate care and manage transitions from one care setting to another.
- Chaplain: The chaplain’s work focuses on spirituality, not religion, and on helping you and your family begin to find meaning in your experience. He or she is trained to help with the nonphysical aspects of your care.
How do you know if you need palliative care?
- Patient/family/physician needs help with complex treatment decision making and determination of care goals.
- Patient is experiencing physical pain, psychosocial or spiritual suffering and/or other symptom distress.
- Prolonged hospital stay without evidence of improvement
- Care of the dying patient and support of the family.
- Assistance needed to determine hospice eligibility.
Start on the PATH as soon as you need it.
It’s never too early to start palliative care. In fact, palliative care occurs at the same time as all other treatments for your illness and does not depend upon the course of your disease.
Working together as a Devoted team
Patients who are considering palliative care often wonder how it will affect their relationships with their primary doctors.
Some of their questions include:
- Will I have to give up my primary doctor?
- What should I say to my doctor if he/she does not want to refer me for palliative care services?
- Will I offend my doctor if I ask questions?
Most important, you do NOT give up your own doctor in order to get palliative care. The palliative care team works with your doctor.
Getting palliative care is as easy as asking for it
In most cases, palliative care is provided anywhere the patient is located.
The process begins when your doctor refers you to the Devoted palliative care team. You can also ask your doctor for a referral.
Insurance pays for palliative care
Many health plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, cover palliative care services in the hospital, but you should check with your insurance company. Ask about your coverage in the hospital and as an outpatient.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Patients dealing with chronic and advanced illness who need extra levels of coaching and care. Diagnoses could include cancer, stroke, cardiac disease, Alzheimer’s or any serious chronic illness.
- Patients receiving treatment (such as radiation, chemotherapy or dialysis) for a serious medical condition.
- Those who are finding day-to-day life increasingly difficult to cope with because of serious illness.
- A thorough review of the patient’s goals of care, emotional and overall state of mind, and well-being.
- A caregiving assessment to ascertain whether caregiving is currently adequate. If caregiving will need to be increased in the future, PATH will help the patient and family make plans for how to achieve this.
- A safety assessment to ensure the patient is currently safe and to help plan for future needs.
- A review of all medications the patient is currently taking to ensure that they are properly used and understood.
- Referrals to community agencies for further support.
Nothing. It’s completely free. Can I receive other treatments while I am a PATH patient? Absolutely! PATH patients may continue or seek out active curative treatments such a radiation, chemotherapy or dialysis.
Don’t wait to get the help you need
If you think you need palliative care, ask for it now.
Tell your doctor that you’d like to receive a Devoted palliative consultation or call (800) 613.9199.