|
Myth |
Fact |
|
Medicare provides only 6 months of
hospice care, so enrollment should be delayed as long as
possible. |
Medicare law does not time limit
the hospice benefit, but Medicare regulations and their interpretations often
discourage longer lengths of stay. Patients may enroll when their physician and
the hospice medical director judge that the illness is terminal, with an
estimated life expectancy of 6 months or less. |
|
All hospice care is the
same. |
Even in the community, hospices
may vary markedly; especially in the kinds of treatment patients can
receive. |
|
Hospice means giving up hope.
Hospice workers help people die. |
Hospice workers help people revise
what they may hope for and help them achieve comfort when death is inevitable.
They do nothing to hasten or prevent death. |
|
Hospice is useful only for
heavy-duty pain medications. |
Hospice care is designed to
provide not only medical care but also social, psychological, and spiritual
support given by an interdisciplinary team that include a nurse, social worker,
chaplain, and other professionals. |
|
You can't keep your own doctor on
admission to hospice. |
Most hospices establish working
relationships with a wide base of referring physicians so that patients can
keep their own doctors on admission to hospice care. |
|
Hospice is only for cancer
patients. |
Individuals who die from cancer
are more likely to choose hospice care than are those who die from other
conditions, but hospice care is now available to an increasing number of
terminally ill patients with non-cancer diagnoses, such as congestive heart
failure and chronic lung disease. |
|
Hospice is only for the sick
family member. |
Hospice is designed to support all
family members during the illness and to offer at least 1 year of bereavement
support after death. |
|
Hospice is a place, so you
must
leave home to receive hospice. |
In America, most hospice care is
delivered in the home, though inpatient care is generally available (in
hospitals, nursing homes, and special settings) to serve those with no at-home
caregiver, and those whose total care is overwhelming to families. |
|
Hospice is
expensive. |
In general hospice costs less than
hospital or nursing home care and saves significant money for
Medicare. |
