Appropriateness
Hospice is appropriate when a patient has a terminal illness with a life-expectancy of six months or less. It is important to note that a life expectancy is never “by the book”. Some patients with a life expectancy of six months will live much longer and some will die much sooner than expected. It is generally accepted that the sooner a patient can access hospice services, the more they will benefit from the care received.
A patient is ready for hospice when they have decided to pursue treatments meant only to promote comfort, not cure the illness. Those treatments include medications to relieve pain, nausea, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, muscle cramps, itching, hiccups, and many more. They may also include more aggressive palliative treatments such as blood transfusions, chemotherapy, and radiation when the goal is to alleviate pain and discomfort, not cure the disease.
