Nexus Legacy, Inc. DBA Lighthouse Hospice & Palliative Care Services

Dispelling Hospice Care Misconceptions Hospice care is end-of-life care for more than 1.65 million U.S. citizens every yearand that number is growing. Hospice involves an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals and trained volunteers who address symptom control, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes. The focus is caring, not curing. It is the model of high-quality, compassionate care that helps pa...tients and families live as fully as possible. I have had three relatives under hospice care. My personal experiences along with five years’ working in hospice coding and billing have corrected some misconceptions I used to have about hospice. For example, hospice is not giving up, nor is it a form of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide. A Gallup poll reveals that 88 percent of adults would prefer to die in their homes, free of pain, surrounded by family and loved ones. Hospice works to make this happen. For example, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization research shows that 94 percent of families who had a loved one cared for by hospice rated the care as very good to excellent. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has indicated that expanding the reach of hospice care holds enormous potential benefits for those nearing end of life, whether they are in nursing homes, their own homes, or in hospitals. Another important misconception is that hospice care is limited to six months of service. The Medicare Hospice Benefit does require that a terminally-ill patient have a prognosis of six months or less, but there is not a six-month limit to hospice care services. Hospice eligibility requirements should not be confused with length of service. A patient in the final phase of life may receive hospice care for as long as necessary when a physician certifies that the patient continues to meet eligibility requirements. Under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, two 90-day periods of care (a total of six months) are followed by an unlimited number of 60-day periods. Visit NHPCO’s Caring Connections at www.caringinfo.org for additional information about hospice and palliative care, advance care planning, caregiving, and more. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization also has many resources on their website at nhpco.org. Click on the resources tab to find answers to your questions. See more

Hospice & Palliative Care

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