Hospice Care Eligibility Criteria
How to know if you or a loved one qualifies for end-of-life care
If you or someone you love has a terminal illness, you’re likely familiar with hospice–specialized care that provides comfort and dignity to people with limited time to live. But do you have a sense of when it’s time to enter hospice care?
Many people enter hospice care too late, meaning they don’t get to experience its full benefits–including the opportunity to spend more quality time with family and other loved ones. However, someone can not enter hospice as soon as they receive a terminal illness diagnosis, either.
As a general rule of thumb, hospice care is designed for patients whom doctors have determined have six months or less to live. However, several signs can also indicate when your loved one may be ready for hospice’s many benefits, such as persistent pain or an inability to care for basic needs.
The team at Valir Health can help you and your loved one determine if it’s time to consider hospice. While the decision to enter end-of-life care is ultimately up to the individual, understanding the role hospice plays in improving the quality of life for those in their final months can perhaps make that decision a little easier.
Schedule an appointment at our Oklahoma facility to learn more about the factors that go into deciding to enter hospice.
Understanding the Role of Hospice Care
When someone is first diagnosed with a terminal illness, their medical care focuses on treating the illness itself by trying to delay or stop its progression. Sometimes, this care is successful, and the illness goes into remission. But other times, the illness progresses too much for treatment to be effective–or the treatment becomes worse than the illness.
When someone enters hospice care, the focus of their medical care shifts from “fighting” the illness to providing comfort and dignity in the final months of the patient’s life. All treatment for the illness itself stops, although patients will still receive treatment to alleviate symptoms and basic health concerns (such as high blood pressure).
But hospice care isn’t focused simply on medical care. Hospice patients receive comprehensive treatment to address their physical, mental, and emotional needs, including the following:
- Pain management
- Help with grooming, bathing, and other forms of personal care
- Companionship from dedicated hospice volunteers
- Counseling services for both the patient and their families
- Spiritual guidance, if desired by the patient
Hospice care allows your loved one to live out the final months of their life in as much comfort as possible. Instead of worrying about fighting a battle they can not win, they now have the time and energy to spend their days with friends and family.
How To Know When It’s Time to Consider Hospice
Part of the reason the general requirement for hospice care is “someone with six months or less to live” is because that is the time limit set by Medicare to ensure financial coverage. However, everyone is different, and some patients may have a longer prognosis but still require a great deal of help with daily living activities.
For this reason, the first step if a loved one is considering hospice care is to speak with their doctor. While predicting a patient’s prognosis isn’t an exact science, their doctor can let them know if they’re at a stage when they might start to benefit from hospice care. If they fall outside that six-month window for Medicare coverage, other payment options may be available for them.
Several signs can indicate if it’s time for someone with a terminal illness to get assessed for hospice care, including the following:
- Rapid, unexplained weight loss
- Intense, persistent pain
- Difficulty performing activities of daily living (getting out of bed, preparing meals, dressing oneself)
- Increased hospital or ER trips
- More frequent falls
As someone’s illness progresses, the more they may struggle to care for themselves. When that struggle becomes so intense that it swallows up everything else, hospice care can relieve much of that pressure, allowing them to focus on what matters most.
Learn More About Hospice Care at Valir Health
If you or someone you love is considering hospice care in Oklahoma, our team would happily answer any questions you have. We can help you understand eligibility criteria, the services we provide to hospice patients and their families, and more.
Call us to schedule an appointment today.