Hospice care & Palliative medicine specialists focus their practice on pain management, symptom relief and qualify-of-life treatments to relieve the suffering of terminally ill patients. These doctors have specialized expertise in the treatment of patients with serious illnesses, advanced diseases and conditions resulting from catastrophic injury. Though often they work within hospice settings, they prevent and alleviate suffering appropriate at any age and stage of disease and can work alongside practitioners providing curative treatments.
Hospice care & Palliative medicine focuses on depression, pain, fatigue, constipation, nausea, shortness of breath, loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping, among other conditions. They also alleviate psychosocial distress and other stressors that accompany terminal illnesses. They are skilled in guiding families through legal and ethical decision-making in end-of-life care and can address spiritual issues at these times. By coordinating care across settings by improving communication among providers, they improve access to information for families so that they understand the patient's condition and treatment options.