Does Comfort Care Mean Death? What It Really Means For Patients
Comfort care can be a confusing term for patients and their caregivers. It ‘s often associated with hospice care, which is end-of-life care. If doctors have suggested your loved one is ready for comfort care, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are already in the dying process.
In this article, we’ll help you understand comfort care. We’ll explain who can benefit from it and what to expect when your loved one begins receiving it.
Don’t forget to check out the Trualta library for more resources on hospice care, palliative care, and other topics related to caregiving. Use this link to find out if you have free access.
What Is Comfort Care?
Comfort care is a type of medical care that focuses on patient comfort rather than medical treatment for a disease or illness. The patient may still receive treatments, like medications or therapy, but with the goal of providing comfort and improving quality of life, not curing a disease.
Comfort care includes pain management and symptom management, mental health care and emotional support. It can also include social support, education, resources, care coordination, and financial and legal guidance. Comfort care is tailored to the needs and preferences of the patient receiving it.
Is Comfort Care The Same As Palliative Care & Hospice Care?
Comfort care can take two different forms: hospice care and palliative care. Although similar and with some overlap, hospice and palliative care are two different things.
Palliative Care
Palliative care is care that focuses on improving quality of life for a patient. It’s an interdisciplinary type of medicine. Different types of healthcare workers and other professionals work on palliative care teams to meet the individual needs of a patient.
Patients receiving palliative care can be in any stage of a serious illness. They can be any age, and they are not necessarily dying. They’re often receiving curative treatments at the same time as this type of comfort care.
Hospice Care
Hospice care is end-of-life care for patients with a terminal illness and limited life expectancy. The Medicare hospice benefit applies to patients who have six months or less to live, according to their doctors. This guideline is often used to define hospice care, even if the hospice patient is not using Medicare.
Even though this is end-of-life care, hospice care does not necessarily mean a patient will die very soon. It also doesn’t speed up a patient’s death. It’s palliative or comfort care for people not expected to recover. These patients are no longer receiving curative medical treatments and are now focused only on comfort and quality of life.
Comfort Care Is Not Just For Dying Patients
The term comfort care is often used to refer to end-of-life care. It’s often used to mean the same thing as hospice care. However, comfort care is not always for the end of life. It does not necessarily mean impending death for the patient, even if it is being used as part of hospice care.
The confusion over who comfort care is for prevents many people from receiving it. A patient with a life limiting illness does not have to wait until they are days or even weeks from death. They can benefit from working with a hospice team or palliative care team much sooner.
A patient with a serious but not necessarily terminal illness doesn’t need to wait for palliative care. They can benefit from palliative medicine soon after their diagnosis to plan for long-term comfort and quality of life.
Comfort Care Does Not Replace Your Loved One’s Primary Doctor
Some people resist comfort care because they believe their doctor is abandoning them. Comfort care is provided by a special team of professionals. In hospice, this includes a hospice doctor, hospice nurse, and other professionals who provide care. Palliative care teams are similar. Your loved one will not have to give up their trusted primary doctor to benefit from comfort care.
What’s Included In Comfort Care?
There are several different aspects of comfort care, for both hospice and palliative care patients. Exactly what is included depends on the patient’s needs and preferences. Palliative and hospice care teams develop individual care plans for each patient.
Physical Comfort
This is a major part of comfort care. Patients receive medications, medical treatments, therapies, and other services to relieve pain and other symptoms. These treatments are not curative in nature. They are provided solely for comfort and relief.
Emotional Support
Mental health care is often as important as physical care for patients in comfort care. Having a serious illness or being near the end of life can be scary and stressful. Counseling and other types of emotional support can bring a great deal of comfort.
Spiritual Care
Many patients also find comfort in spiritual care. Comfort care teams often include spiritual support for patients. They can tailor the care to the needs of the patient with specific types of religious guides or more general spiritual practices.
Other Types Of Care
Physical, emotional, and spiritual support are fundamental for comforting patients. Many patients also benefit from more practical types of support. Legal and financial experts help patients and their families prepare documents like living wills and make difficult decisions.
Family and caregivers may also benefit from counseling, support groups, or respite care. They may receive help for practical tasks, like housekeeping or chores, so they can spend more quality time with their loved ones. Comfort care also often includes bereavement care for loved ones.
How Do I Know If My Loved One Needs Comfort Care?
Your loved one could benefit from comfort care if they have a serious illness, physical limitations, pain, and other symptoms. They can also benefit if they have a terminal illness.
Don’t wait until your loved one is in a lot of pain, unable to move, or very uncomfortable. If their medical team has not yet mentioned comfort care, raise the issue. Ask about pain relief, symptom relief, hospice services, and whatever else you think your loved one might need.
It’s important to speak up and advocate for your loved one. They shouldn’t suffer needlessly if comfort care teams are available.
Trualta has many more resources on all aspects of caregiving. Check this link to find out if you have free access to the Trualta library and community.
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