Criteria for Hospice and palliative care provided

[kstec, LPN]

Do most Hospice places allow a patient to continue chemo, tube feeding, and any other palliative care? The place I'm working at does, and say that most hospice places don't. Even though the patient is terminal we will allow any and all treatments until the patient or family comes to term with the big illness or the patient begins active dying. What do others hospices have as criteria? Or is it the same with all of them? We try and get families prior to being so close to the end that we cannot intervene with pain control or psychsocial concerns for the family and patient. I'm just curious what others criteria for eligibility is, besides the 6 months to live rule.

[Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN]

Palliative care in what hospice does! Curative procedures aren't done. Sometimes radiation is done (for palliative reasons)but I've never heard of chemo. My understanding is that chemo is curative (but I could be wrong). Even though I, personally, would not want a PEG; I've had several hospice patients getting tube feedings. I hope this answered your question.

[aimeee, BSN, RN]

There is a lot of variation in what hospices provide. Chemo can be palliative but it is cost prohibitive for many hospices. It also frequently REDUCES quality of life rather than adding to comfort. There are many things that we approach on a case by case basis.

[doodlemom]

Our hospice is similarly run in the way Aimeee's is. Our medical director makes the decision on a case by case basis. We have been having more requests for it and have been doing a lot more than we used to. Most of the time it is not helpful and the patient quits after 1 or 2 treatments because they cannot tolerate it. On occasion, it has helped.