Types of hospice care

Medicare defines four distinct levels of hospice care. The four levels of hospice defined by Medicare are routine home care, continuous home care, general inpatient care, and respite care.

The Difference Between Palliative Care and Hospice

Both palliative care and hospice care provide comfort. But palliative care can begin at diagnosis, and at the same time as treatment. Hospice care begins after treatment of the disease is stopped and when it is clear that the person is not going to survive the illness.

Hospice is an approach to care, so it is not tied to a specific place. It can be offered in two types of settings — at home or in a facility such as a nursing home, hospital, or even in a separate hospice center. Read more about where end-of-life care can be provided.

When determining eligibility for hospice, a doctor must certify that the patient is terminally ill, with a life expectancy of six months or less if the disease runs its expected course. This is the primary criteria used for determining hospice eligibility for patients.

The brain is the first organ to begin to break down, and other organs follow suit.

Being there at the end

Remember: hearing is thought to be the last sense to go in the dying process, so never assume the person is unable to hear you.

Pulse and heartbeat are irregular or hard to feel or hear. Body temperature drops. Skin on their knees, feet, and hands turns a mottled bluish-purple (often in the last 24 hours) Breathing is interrupted by gasping and slows until it stops entirely.