Q&A: Knowing the difference between hospice and palliative care

Q: What is the difference between hospice care and palliative care?

A: Hospital and palliative care providers are certified to provide end-of-life care or symptom management in the home or in skilled or acute care settings. The goal of hospice and palliative care is to help patients live productive and self-directed lives.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the hospice and palliative care guidelines shown below, which are also outlined on Medicare.gov.

If the patient survives past six months in hospice or palliative care, he or she can get hospice care for two additional 90-day periods, followed by an unlimited number of 60-day benefit periods.

• Palliative care: Palliative care is for anyone with a serious illness at any stage of the illness and can be concurrent with curative treatment. Palliative care is not dependent on prognosis. The main goal is symptom management.
• Hospice care: Hospice care provides comprehensive care, including palliative care, for terminally ill patients with a life expectancy of six months or less who are no longer receiving curative treatment.

For more information, see Care Transitions in Case Management. Need expert advice? Email your questions for consideration in the Revenue Cycle Daily Advisor. Note: We do not guarantee that all questions will be answered.