In Pictures: The Differences Between Palliative Care and Hospice Care

Death is inevitable.

When a person’s time comes, he'll probably wish to be comfortable, not alone. He'll wish to be with the people he loves most. However, this isn’t always the case, especially for individuals with severe illnesses. Many seriously ill Americans die lonely and alone in a hospital or care facilities.

Getting diagnosed with a terminal disease is devastating for people. It changes their lives in ways they don’t foresee. It prevents them from doing many things that they love.

During this challenging period, patients need incomparable compassion, support, and constant care until their recovery or their final moments. Since they are likely to be in pain and suffering, the goal is to provide them the most possible comfort and attention.

A lot of caregiving services are available with different benefits so that patients and their family could have the support they need during tough times. Palliative care and hospice care aim to provide terminally ill patients with comprehensive care. This ensures their physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. However, there are significant differences between the two.

According to the World Health Organization, the global life expectancy at birth is 72 years old. For women, it’s 74.2 and for men, it's 69.8. While these figures vaguely connect with people at the prime of their health and youth, those with sickly and aging loved ones can’t help but dwell on the data.

Questions on how they should be taken care of and the best people to care for them will come to mind. While these are tough concerns, the answers are not impossible to obtain. The innovations and continued dedication of our health facilities have made it possible to have all the services we need in times of health-related issues.

About Palliative Care

When a person suffers from a serious illness and wants to get better through a series of holistic treatment, they can receive palliative care. It is provided to people who suffer from serious conditions like cancer, organ failure, and stroke, or those who experience prolonged and repeated hospital confinement because of their medical situation.

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Doctors will usually recommend palliative care to patients with severe but non-life-threatening diseases (for the moment). Palliative care gives patients round-the-clock monitoring using advanced medical equipment and sensors, as well as assistance by medical professionals. It's accompanied by curative treatment for as long as necessary.

Most people think that palliative treatment is for patients who are dying, but that’s not necessarily true. It is care provided side by side with the treatment for the disease a person is suffering from. That’s why one should expect a team of experts to work around them.

About Hospice Care

Hospice care seeks not to lengthen a person’s life but to add quality to it. It is provided to patients determined to be terminally ill. It typicaly starts in the presumed last six months of the person’s life. This form of care is special in a way that it celebrates a person’s life while accepting the reality of a looming end.

Hospice care is given to patients with untreatable conditions or those who have opted out of treatment. Hospice care provides palliative support, prepares the patient and their family, and eases their pain over what is to come.

This insightful infographic aims to enlighten you on the differences between palliative care and hospice care. Understanding the facts and details will help you understand how these types of care can vastly improve the patients' quality of life and that of the people around them.

Receiving the right care can make the period of illness more bearable.

It can greatly help a person’s recovery. It is of utmost importance to really choose the right care suitable for a patient’s condition. For dying patients, end-of-life care that is consistent with their wishes and needs offers comfort and relief. They can leave knowing that they are not alone and that people care for them.

If you are seriously ill or have loved ones who are, learn about the right care to have for you or their condition through this detailed infographic.