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Hospice 101

By Angela Morrow, RN, About.com Guide to Palliative Care

Hospice is a philosophy of care that focuses on patient comfort rather than curing illnesses. Find everything you want and need to know about hospice care, including eligibility, coverage, and pain and symptom management.

  1. What is Hospice?
  2. Hospice Care or Palliative Care?
  3. Comfort Care
  4. Special Topics

What is Hospice?

Hospice is a philosophy of care, focusing on comfort rather than cure. It is the most common form of palliative care available.

Hospice Care or Palliative Care?

What separates hospice care from palliative care? The answer lies in the patient's life expectancy and goals of care.

Comfort Care

Hospice care focuses on comfort. Comfort care is all-encompassing, treating pain and physical symptoms as well as emotional, social, and spiritual symptoms. Treating the whole person is essential to patient comfort.

Special Topics

Other topics that are important to the palliative care patients and their loved ones.

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