Palliative Care and Hospice education is available for you, your patients and their caregivers.

HCP can help your patients and their families understand their end-of-life options and make informed healthcare and treatment decisions that, with your input, will best address their needs.

The Difference between Palliative Care (Comfort Care) and Hospice Care

Both Palliative Care and Hospice Care are intended to provide comfort.

• Palliative care can begin at any time after a life-threatening diagnosis is made, and usually continues throughout the course of treatment or to end of life.
• Hospice care begins after treatment of the disease is stopped and a physician determines it is likely the patient has less than 6 months of life remaining.

Palliative Care (Comfort Care)

Palliative care helps people with serious illnesses feel better. It prevents or treats symptoms and side effects of disease and treatment. It also treats emotional, social, practical, and spiritual problems that illnesses can bring up. When the person feels better in these areas, they have an improved quality of life.

Palliative care can be given at the same time as treatments meant to cure or treat the disease.

Hospice Care

Hospice care offers a compassionate approach to caring for terminally ill people. Hospice is a medically directed, interdisciplinary team-managed program of services that focuses on the patient/family as the unit of care.

Hospice care is focused on ensuring comfort so a person may live the last months/weeks of life fully, with dignity and comfort, at home or in a homelike setting.

Symptom control, emotional and family support, and quality of life considerations are the main goals of hospice care.

Ask yourself this question:
“Would I be surprised if I saw my patient’s name in the obituary column of the local newspaper in the next six months?”

If the answer is no, it’s time to talk to and encourage your patients to access the benefits of hospice. HCP can provide care, emotional support, education, and coordination of benefits for your patients. By referring your patients sooner, they can take full advantage of the benefits millions receive from hospice care.

How Can HealthCare Partners Help?

A value-added, no-cost service is provided by HCP’s Hospice Team.

HealthCare Partners provides our members with a range of benefits, including the services of a Registered Nurse, Social Workers, Clinical Pharmacists, and Hospice Team. We work in coordination with a local Hospice Agency that will provide face-to-face resources.

Members and families can utilize the hospice team as a resource to:

• Maximize utilization of insurance benefits designed to meet member’s needs.
• Educate members and families on palliative/hospice philosophy and services.
• Evaluate members for potential palliative/hospice eligibility.
• Educate members/families on advanced directives and assist with
  implementation.
• Offer emotional and practical support for both the member and their family.
• Assist with coordination of services at home, hospital or skilled nursing facility.
• Advocate for members that are palliative/hospice candidates.
• Facilitate communication between member, family and primary physician.

If you have any questions about a member that may need palliative or hospice services, please contact us at ws_hospice@hcpipa.com.