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According to the National Hospice Foundation, an estimated 70 million Americans will need hospice and palliative care services in the next 20 years, and most of us cannot even begin to remember all the patients we have treated who were ultimately transferred from a medical ward to some form of hospice.
Hospice care is often a compassionate, appropriate recommendation, but is it not always an easy subject for hospitalists to broach. After all, we went into medicine to cure the sick. At least on a subconscious level, we may feel we have failed our patients when all we have to offer them is hospice. Plus, we are often at the disadvantage of not having enough time with our patients and their families to develop the trust needed to accept such a life-altering recommendation.
It’s important to remember that, even when we can’t cure our patients, we can offer them symptomatic relief and the ability to heal on a certain level. Sometimes, the recommendation of hospice is a much-welcomed release for patients and their families, a way to finally ease the burdens of uncertainty and of pain, both physical and emotional.
Palliative care can be an important addition to the care plan, as it focuses on relieving suffering, regardless of the stage of disease. Palliative care incorporates support, as well as assistance with communication about care needs. Within an integrated care model, palliative care may be provided alongside curative or life-prolonging treatments.
Palliative care can be particularly useful for helping patients to prepare for the emotional transition from seeking aggressive but likely futile care to accepting the ultimate reality of their disease process. Even when death is not imminent, having the appropriate support systems in place for patients and their families can play a significant role in easing their minds and helping them make informed, appropriate treatment decisions.
Dr. Hester is a hospitalist at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Md. She is the creator of the Patient Whiz, a patient-engagement app for iOS. Reach her at healthsavvy@aol.com.
According to the National Hospice Foundation, an estimated 70 million Americans will need hospice and palliative care services in the next 20 years, and most of us cannot even begin to remember all the patients we have treated who were ultimately transferred from a medical ward to some form of hospice.
Hospice care is often a compassionate, appropriate recommendation, but is it not always an easy subject for hospitalists to broach. After all, we went into medicine to cure the sick. At least on a subconscious level, we may feel we have failed our patients when all we have to offer them is hospice. Plus, we are often at the disadvantage of not having enough time with our patients and their families to develop the trust needed to accept such a life-altering recommendation.
It’s important to remember that, even when we can’t cure our patients, we can offer them symptomatic relief and the ability to heal on a certain level. Sometimes, the recommendation of hospice is a much-welcomed release for patients and their families, a way to finally ease the burdens of uncertainty and of pain, both physical and emotional.
Palliative care can be an important addition to the care plan, as it focuses on relieving suffering, regardless of the stage of disease. Palliative care incorporates support, as well as assistance with communication about care needs. Within an integrated care model, palliative care may be provided alongside curative or life-prolonging treatments.
Palliative care can be particularly useful for helping patients to prepare for the emotional transition from seeking aggressive but likely futile care to accepting the ultimate reality of their disease process. Even when death is not imminent, having the appropriate support systems in place for patients and their families can play a significant role in easing their minds and helping them make informed, appropriate treatment decisions.
Dr. Hester is a hospitalist at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Md. She is the creator of the Patient Whiz, a patient-engagement app for iOS. Reach her at healthsavvy@aol.com.
According to the National Hospice Foundation, an estimated 70 million Americans will need hospice and palliative care services in the next 20 years, and most of us cannot even begin to remember all the patients we have treated who were ultimately transferred from a medical ward to some form of hospice.
Hospice care is often a compassionate, appropriate recommendation, but is it not always an easy subject for hospitalists to broach. After all, we went into medicine to cure the sick. At least on a subconscious level, we may feel we have failed our patients when all we have to offer them is hospice. Plus, we are often at the disadvantage of not having enough time with our patients and their families to develop the trust needed to accept such a life-altering recommendation.
It’s important to remember that, even when we can’t cure our patients, we can offer them symptomatic relief and the ability to heal on a certain level. Sometimes, the recommendation of hospice is a much-welcomed release for patients and their families, a way to finally ease the burdens of uncertainty and of pain, both physical and emotional.
Palliative care can be an important addition to the care plan, as it focuses on relieving suffering, regardless of the stage of disease. Palliative care incorporates support, as well as assistance with communication about care needs. Within an integrated care model, palliative care may be provided alongside curative or life-prolonging treatments.
Palliative care can be particularly useful for helping patients to prepare for the emotional transition from seeking aggressive but likely futile care to accepting the ultimate reality of their disease process. Even when death is not imminent, having the appropriate support systems in place for patients and their families can play a significant role in easing their minds and helping them make informed, appropriate treatment decisions.
Dr. Hester is a hospitalist at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Md. She is the creator of the Patient Whiz, a patient-engagement app for iOS. Reach her at healthsavvy@aol.com.
