Differences
Hospice Care
- Hospice is a philosophy of care.
- Hospice is a holistic approach using nurses, doctors, spiritual help, social services, other skills, and volunteers.
- Skilled nursing is not always essential.
- In-patient respite care is available.
- Bereavement counseling is provided.
- A written bereavement care plan for the entire family is required. Family followed in bereavement up to fifteen months.
- Care continues if patient lives longer than six months after electing hospice care.
- Nursing, physician, pharmacy, social worker, and chaplain services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Patient, family, and other primary care givers receive hospice services.
- All patients are terminally ill.
- Hospice nurses specialize in pain and symptom management.
- Hospice care deals primarily with the dying process.
- The objective of hospice is comfort, not cure.
- Heavy emphasis on emotional support for both patient and family.
Home Health Care
- Home health care is basically a way of delivering nursing care.
- Primarily nursing care; other therapies as necessary.
- Skilled nursing is the primary service provided.
- Respite care not available.
- No bereavement counseling.
- No bereavement care plan is required.
- Family is not followed after death of the patient. Patient is discharged when skilled care is no longer required.
- Only nursing services are available 24 hours.
- Care is client oriented.
- Patients are not necessarily terminally ill.
- Nurses utilize many skills.
- Home care deals with a wide range of diagnoses.
- The objective of home care is cure and rehabilitation.
- Emphasis on physical care of the patient.