Debunking the Myths of Hospice

What is Hospice?
Hospice includes medical care with an emphasis on pain management and symptom relief. Hospice teams of professionals and volunteers also address the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of the patient and the whole family. Overseeing all patient care is the hospice medical director who may also serve as the attending physician. Alternatively, the patient’s own physician may continue in this role, in coordination with the hospice team and its plan of care.
To learn about hospice, it is useful to start with debunking the common myths that in themselves create barriers to hospice.

The Common Myths of Hospice:

Myth #1: Hospice is a place

Hospice care takes place wherever the need exists — usually the patient’s home. About 80 percent of hospice care takes place at home.

Myth # 2: Hospice is only for people with cancer

More than one-fifth of hospice patients nation-wide have diagnoses other than cancer. In urban areas, hospices serve a large number of HIV/AIDS patients. Increasingly, hospices are also serving families coping with the end-stages of chronic diseases, like emphysema, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular, and neuromuscular diseases.

Myth #3: Hospice is only for old people

Although the majority of hospice patients are older, hospices serve patients of all ages. Many hospices offer clinical staff with expertise in pediatric hospice care.

Myth #4: Hospice is only for dying people

As a family-centered concept of care, hospice focuses as much on the grieving family as on the dying patient. Most hospices make their grief services available to the community at large, serving schools, churches and the workplace.

Myth #5: Hospice can only help when family members are available to provide care

Recognizing that terminally ill people may live alone, or with family members unable to provide care, many hospices coordinate community resources to make home care possible. Or they help to find an alternative location where the patient can safely receive care.

Myth #6: Hospice is for people who don’t need a high level of care

Hospice is serious medicine. Most hospices are Medicare-certified, requiring that they employ experienced medical and nursing personnel with skills in symptom control. Hospices offer state-of-the-art palliative care, using advanced technologies to prevent or alleviate distressing symptoms.

Myth #7: Hospice is only for people who can accept death

While those affected by terminal illness struggle to come to terms with death, hospices gently help them find their way at their own speed. Many hospices welcome inquiries from families who are unsure about their needs and preferences. Hospice staff are readily available to discuss all options and to facilitate family decisions.

Myth # 8: Hospice care is expensive

Most people who use hospice are over 65 and are entitled to the Medicare Hospice Benefit. This benefit covers virtually all hospice services and requires little, if any, out-of-pocket costs. This means that there are no financial burdens incurred by the family, in sharp contrast to the huge financial expenses at the end of life which are incurred when hospice is not used.

Myth # 9: Hospice is not covered by managed care

While managed care organizations (MCOs) are not required to include hospice coverage, Medicare beneficiaries can use their Medicare hospice benefit anytime, any where they choose. They are not locked into the end-of-life services offered or not offered by the MCOs. On the other hand, those under 65 are confined to the MCOs services, but are likely to gain access to hospice care upon inquiry.

Myth # 10: Hospice is for when there is no hope

When death is in sight, there are two options: submit without hope or live life as fully as ever until the end. The gift of hospice is its capacity to help families see how much can be shared at the end of life through personal and spiritual connections often left behind. It is no wonder that many family members can look back upon their hospice experience with gratitude, and with the knowledge that everything possible was done towards a peaceful death.

By Naomi Naierman, President and CEO of the American Hospice Foundation. Reprinted with permission from the American Hospice Foundation. Copyright 1999 American Hospice Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Further distribution, reprinting, performance, display, or use of this article, as well as the creation of any derivatives or other modifications of it, is prohibited without the express, written authorization of American Hospice Foundation. Additional information is available at American Hospice Foundation’s website at www.americanhospice.org.