How Do Palliative Care Services Differ from Regular Medical Care?
Palliative care is a specialized approach to medical care that focuses on improving quality of life for patients with serious illnesses. While many people confuse palliative care with hospice or assume it means giving up on treatment, palliative care is actually quite different. Understanding what palliative care offers can help seniors with serious conditions live more comfortably while continuing to pursue treatment goals.
What Is Palliative Care
Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and family by addressing physical symptoms, emotional distress, and practical concerns. Palliative care can be provided at any stage of illness, not just at the end of life, and can be received alongside curative treatments.
The word palliative comes from the Latin word meaning to cloak or shield. Palliative care shields patients from suffering by aggressively managing symptoms and providing support through difficult medical journeys.
How Palliative Care Differs from Regular Care
Regular medical care typically focuses on diagnosing and treating disease. Appointments are often short and centered on specific medical problems. While physicians certainly care about their patients’ comfort, the primary focus is on the underlying condition.
Palliative care takes a more holistic approach. Palliative care teams have time to address the full range of issues affecting patients with serious illness. They focus on symptom management including pain, nausea, fatigue, and shortness of breath. They address emotional concerns like anxiety, depression, and fear. They help with family communication and difficult conversations about care goals. They coordinate care among multiple specialists and assist with practical matters like advance directives.
The Palliative Care Team
Palliative care is delivered by interdisciplinary teams that typically include physicians trained in palliative medicine, nurse practitioners and registered nurses, social workers, and chaplains or spiritual counselors. This team works together to address all dimensions of suffering, not just physical symptoms.
The palliative care team communicates with your other doctors, adding a layer of support rather than replacing your regular physicians. They serve as an extra resource to help you navigate complex medical situations and make decisions that align with your values.
When to Consider Palliative Care
Palliative care is appropriate for anyone with a serious illness who is experiencing symptoms or stress related to their condition. Common conditions that benefit from palliative care include cancer at any stage, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney failure, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
You do not need to wait until late-stage illness to benefit from palliative care. Research shows that patients who receive palliative care earlier in their illness often have better quality of life, less depression, and sometimes even longer survival than those who receive standard care alone.
Palliative Care vs Hospice
While related, palliative care and hospice are not the same. Hospice is a specific type of palliative care for patients with terminal illness and a life expectancy of six months or less who have decided to stop curative treatments. Palliative care has no such requirements and can be provided to anyone with serious illness regardless of prognosis or treatment plans.
Think of hospice as one type of palliative care, specifically focused on end-of-life comfort. General palliative care can begin at diagnosis and continue through cure or throughout the illness journey.
Accessing Palliative Care Services
All Seniors Foundation can help connect seniors with palliative care services to improve quality of life while managing serious illness. We understand the challenges of living with chronic or serious conditions and can help coordinate comprehensive care that addresses all your needs. Contact us to learn how palliative care might benefit you or your loved one.
