Hospice & Palliative Care Centers Are Integrated Part of Complex Healthcare System in Various Countries

 

Hospice care can be defined as a specific type of medical care for patients who have limited or no control over their own health. Along with palliative care, it is an integrated part of complex healthcare system in various countries. For example, since 2007, palliative care has been established by law in Germany as an integrated part of our complex healthcare system.

The goal of hospice & palliative care centers is to enhance quality of life for terminally ill patients with all types of diseases. While at times providing curative form of treatment, hospice care is also focused towards reducing discomfort and pain experienced by the patients. In short, it involves all possible efforts to improve quality of life of patients suffering from terminal illness.

Hospice & palliative care centers are provided at hospitals or any other suitable medical care facility where the families of terminally ill patients can visit for counseling and support. This has many advantages to the families of such patients as it alleviates them from various tensions and gives them time to grieve. However, palliative care is not offered at all times at hospitals and hence at times there are several patient families who would rather look out for it themselves. This would make things much easier for hospice care as they would get the help and support of Hospice care giving professionals at the time of need. This however can only be done with the availability of funds at the hospice centers. However there are various organizations that provide financial assistance especially during the last stages of illness.

The organizations providing hospice & palliative care centers also conduct training programs for the staff in these centers. These training programs cover various aspects of this medical approach including dealing with terminally sick patients, assessment of patients, understanding the psychological as well as the physical aspect of patients, proper administration of medication etc. These training programs are conducted by the Palliative Care Education Program (PCE), which is a joint effort of several organizations like Canadian Cancer Society, Royal Canadian College of Physicians, Medical Assisting Foundation etc. The Palliative Care Training Program also ensures that the training is up to the mark and one can undergo certification examination after finishing the program successfully.