Why Palliative Care Offerings Can Be A Differentiator For Home Health Providers

Palliative care is both an approach to care, as well as an actual medical subspecialty, according to Rory Ferrand, vice president of palliative and advanced care at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life for people living with serious illness, whether that illness is going to be life limiting, terminal, or just something that’s really serious,” she told Home Health Care News. “Our objective is to manage pain, symptoms and provide other types of support, depending on a person’s individual situation or their specific needs. The biggest difference between palliative care and hospice is that [the former] can be provided at the same time someone is receiving curative care or disease modifying therapies like treatments for cancer or dialysis.