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Summary
Hospice care is end-of-life care. A team of health care professionals and volunteers provides it. They give medical, psychological, and spiritual support. The goal of the care is to help people who are dying have peace, comfort, and dignity. The caregivers try to control pain and other symptoms so a person can remain as alert and comfortable as possible. Hospice programs also provide services to support a patient's family.
Usually, a hospice patient is expected to live 6 months or less. Hospice care can take place:
- At home
- At a hospice center
- In a hospital
- In a skilled nursing facility
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Related Issues
- Helping You Choose: Quality Hospice Care (Joint Commission) - PDF
- Medicare Hospice Benefits (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - PDF Also in Spanish
Statistics and Research
- FastStats: Hospice Care (National Center for Health Statistics)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Hospice Care
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: "Palliative care is so much more than that": a qualitative study...
- Article: Specialist perinatal palliative care: a retrospective review of antenatal referrals to...
- Article: Eye donation in hospice and hospital palliative care settings: perceptions, practice,...
- Hospice Care -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- Find a Care Provider (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization)
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National Cancer Institute
Also in Spanish
- National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Patient Handouts
- Hospice care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish