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By Joelle Y. Jean, FNP Due to its busy nature, providers in the Emergency Room (ER) may not immediately identify patients for hospice care. Approaching patients or family members about hospice can also be challenging-especially if they have specific questions. This hospice checklist can help guide providers on when they should consider a patient for hospice.

What is hospice?

Hospice is for patients who are at the end of life. Patients can have a terminal illness or declining health from a chronic illness. The hospice team can coordinate care with health care providers to manage and treat patients.

Benefits of hospice

Initiating hospice early in the disease process has many benefits for the patient and family members. Hospice is there to improve the quality of life and provide comfort for patients during their end of life. Benefits of hospice include:

Barriers to initiating hospice

Studies have shown that providers initiate hospice too late- patients die within weeks of entering hospice. There are barriers that cause ER providers to wait or not consider hospice. Some barriers include:

Head-to-toe hospice checklist

Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

Patients in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia are candidates for hospice. At this stage, they start to lose activities of daily living (ADLs) and cannot complete basic functions on their own. These functions include: Other signs providers should consider patients with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia for hospice are:

Heart disease

Patients in their late stages of heart failure (HF) are candidates for hospice. Providers should consider hospice if the patient has:

Lung disease and lung cancer

Patients with end-stage lung disease and lung cancer are hospice candidates. Providers should consider hospice if the patient:

Liver disease

Patients with end-stage liver disease are candidates for hospice. Liver disease is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. Patients with liver disease are often overlooked for hospice care. Providers should consider hospice for patients with end-stage liver disease if they are:

Cancers

ER providers can opt for hospice for patients with cancer if treatment is no longer working or there are no other treatment plans. Patients also at the end stage of their cancer can benefit from entering hospice early. Other signs a patient is ready for hospice are if the patient:

Sepsis

It’s not always easy to identify patients with sepsis who qualify for hospice. However, some patients meet the criteria. Providers should consider patients with sepsis for hospice if the patient: Hospice is available to patients who are at the end of their life. They can entire at any stage in their disease process. Initiating hospice early benefits the patient. Studies have shown that hospice improves mood, decreases medical interventions, and enhances the patient’s overall quality of life.

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