Hospice Treatment

Hospice treatment is the care provided to persons with life-limiting illnesses as they approach the terminal phase of the disease. Hospice treatment, or hospice care, is focused on improving quality of life and symptom control, or palliation, rather than the pursuit of curative care. Hospice is not a place or an institution, but a philosophy of medical care with a holistic patient-centered approach, including management of physical symptoms such as pain, nausea, or anxiety, as well as spiritual, emotional, and existential concerns. Most hospice care in the United States is provided to patients in their own homes. Hospice patients wish to be surrounded by family and friends in a comfortable, peaceful setting at the end of life, rather than in an intrusive, medical environment such ...