When you decide on palliative care or hospice, a knowledgeable team of medical specialists will assist you and guide you through the decision-making process.
You can change your decision. A major illness’ progression can be incredibly unpredictable. People improve, deteriorate, and then improve once more. Nobody can predict the future. Medicare and insurance providers let you change your mind for this reason.
If you choose hospice care and circumstances change, you can decide not to use hospice services and return later if you so desire. The choosing aspect of hospice. Your hospice team works to facilitate your decision so that you can do what you want to do.
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Starting with supportive or palliative care, you can transition to hospice care. If you want to explore a different treatment, you can return to palliative care. You enter an institution for long-term care. If you have any questions, just let your team know, and they’ll work with you to respect your decisions.
Among the grounds to decline hospice care are:
After you recover, your doctor thinks that resuming your more intensive treatment would be beneficial.
- You want to try a new treatment.
- You wish to receive certain treatments at the hospital.
- Your family’s circumstances alter
- You simply want to discontinue receiving hospice care.
- You always have a choice, regardless of the circumstance.
Can Hospice Help a Patient Get Better?
Yes. A patient’s health may occasionally get better while on hospice for a variety of reasons, including the fact that their nutritional needs are being met, their medications are being adjusted, they regularly engage in social interaction, they are receiving more consistent medical and/or personal attention, etc.
Hospice is a Medicare benefit that the patient owns. Patients who are eligible for hospice care and elect to use it do so because they believe it will benefit them.
The doctor may decide to reevaluate the patient’s six-month prognosis if the patient’s condition shows a significant improvement. Hospice care is stopped if the patient’s doctor predicts an extended survival time of more than six months.
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The doctor can reevaluate the patient if or when their condition starts to worsen. The patient can decide to continue receiving hospice care if they are once more hospice eligible.
It may feel like the end when deciding to obtain palliative care or hospice services, but patients and their families should keep in mind that hospice is patient-centered care. The hospice provider will support the patient or family if they decide to quit receiving hospice care for any reason and will be happy to have them back if they choose to do so.