Hospice is paid for through the Medicare Hospice Benefit, Medicaid Hospice Benefit, and most private insurers. If a person does not have coverage through Medicare, Medicaid or a private insurance company, hospice will work with the person and their family to ensure needed services can be provided.
Myth #1:
Palliative Care is end-of-life care and speeds up death.
Palliative Care focuses on the effective relief of pain and other symptoms, while supporting the best quality of life for patients with serious illnesses- Palliative Care is appropriate at any stage of serious illness and is often provided at the same time as curative therapies. In fact, patients who receive Palliative Care often live longer when they receive care from the palliative medicine specialist early in the course of their serious illness!
Myth #2:
Taking pain medication causes addiction.
Patients with serious illness who need medication to control their pain do not generally become addicted. Sometimes patients with severe pain need an increase in their medication over time in order to control the pain The increase is not due to addiction but a result of becoming tolerant to medication. The palliative medicine specialists are experts in pain management and carefully manages their patients' medications so pain and other symptoms are both safely and well controlled
Myth #3:
doctor recommends palliative care, which means there is no hope for me.
Palliative Care is appropriate at any stage of serious illness and is often provided at the same time as curative treatments. A primary goal of Palliative Care is to improve the quality of life for patients- With this philosophy of treatment, we strive for reduction of pain and other symptoms and better treatment tolerance for patients. In fact, patients who receive early Palliative Care are found to have less pain and depression- When doctors recommend Palliative Care for patients with serious illnesses, they want their patients to live as fully as possible.
Myth #4:
If I want Palliative Care, I will need to change doctors.
Palliative Care is provided by a specialized medical team who serve as consultants that work along with the patient’s other treating physicians. Any patient who wants and needs Palliative Care has the entire Palliative Care team working closely with his or her primary care physician and the other medical specialists.
Myth #5:
Palliative Care only patients.
First and foremost, Palliative Care helps patients manage their pain and other symptoms; but at the same, family members benefit. How? Families feel a huge sense of relief when they see that their loved one is no longer suffering and finally able to eat or sleep or just participate in daily life. Families also have much less fear and anxiety when they better understand exactly what is happening with their loved one, espe
