Three Major Points of Development of Hospice and Palliative Care in the US - Essay Example

15th May The growth of hospice and palliative care for the aged population in the United s, which began in the twentieth century, has improved in the recent years. Hospice and palliative care are different in the way they are provided to the aged. Palliative care is provided to aged persons with serious chronic illness. This care deals with the person rather than the disease itself. The main aim is to provide patients with medical care and support they need to reduce the effect of the illness on the person rather than cure the disease. Hospice care is the a bit different because it is provided to patients whose life expectancy is not expected to exceed six months. The patients are said to have accepted their demise, and hospice care is provided to give them as much comfort as possible for the remaining days of their lives (Goldberg, 2; Meir, 4). The provision of palliative and hospice care has been made possible in the United States by the Congress bill on Medicare hospice. This bill defines the amount of budgetary allocation that the aged in the hospice shall receive from the government. The life expectancy of the Americans has increased over the past decades and is also expected to rise in the coming years. It has increased from 6o years in the 90s to 85 years at the turn of the millennium. This is possible through the increased research being undertaken in the medical field. This has enabled the government and hospitals to treat many of life threatening diseases that in the past were incurable. Also further technological development has led to early diagnosis of several chronic diseases prolonging life of the aged. Recent developments in provision of social amenities such as clean water and better food also has increased life expectancy of the aged (Hoffman & Tarzian, 2). The development of hospice and palliative care has also been catalyzed by increase in life expectancy of the aged in the country. This phas made need for better health care service and facilities to be made available for this population leading to increase in life expectancy that has caused an increase in the number of resident nursing homes in the country. The congress bill for Medicare hospice care for aged has also enlightened the populace of availability of these services. The population has also come to know benefits that these services offer to the ages and their families. There a number of benefits that hospice and palliative care are providing to the aged populace in the United States. First, it is changing medical care provision to aged in the United States population, leading to increased life expectancy. This has been achieved by; one, there has been improved assessment of patients conditions in hospitals. A number of physicians are consulted to assess a patient’s condition and try and evaluate levels of their illness and the expected life expectancy. The extent of the aged patient’s illness or health can properly be determined. If the patient’s condition is manageable, then the needed medical care is provided to make it as comfortable as possible for them. Two, as per patients preference or family choice, they may be provided for home care or inpatient services at special hospice facilities. The home care provision can be either periodical care where doctors and specialist visit patients in their place of residence at specified dates. It can also be continuous care where a specialist visits the residence of patients on a daily basis to provide the care. Patients who choose this service may have some reasons to prefer this. First, health care centers may increase stress levels or make them uncomfortable. They may also be too old or weak to be moved to hospice facilities hence a special room is set for them in the residence. Inpatient services may be provided for patients who may not be able to afford expense of home care services. This may also be done for patients who need specialized care and medical attention several times in the day (Meir, 20; Hoffman & Dimme, 2). Second, hospice and palliative care providers provide psychological and spiritual support for the patients and their families. The aged under their care have sessions with trained psychological experts who try and prepare them for their seemingly forthcoming deaths. This aids the patient to accept death and live their remaining days as positive as possible. Family and friends of the patient are also counseled on how to relate with the aged person. This also assists families cope with the death after it occurs. The aged who are under care of the hospice in their centers are allowed sessions, where they can meet and interact with others who are facing the same fate as theirs. The staffs employed in these are well trained and equipped in handling of in patients or those in home care services. The inpatients are also provided with a comfortable and conducive environment to relax and enjoy their last days alive. Most of the aged are idle hence they are provided with past time facilities depending on their hobbies and preferences. Volunteer social workers have assisted the hospice and palliative centers in their operations of assisting their patients. Third, hospice and palliative care have been equipped with equipment and resources needed to handle terminally ill aged patients. The United States government has allocated a lot of budgetary funds to purchase the machinery needed and hire staff to handle the patients (Goldberg, 3). The aged in society have benefited in the following ways, first the number of days that a person may live has been greatly increased. Life support machines have been used to give life to patients who should be otherwise dead. Hospice care is given to patients who are perceived to have less than six months to live, but this equipment and medication used has increased those days indefinitely. The equipment is also used to provide comfort to patient and reduce their suffering in case of chronically ill persons. There has also been increased diagnosis of symptoms for the aged, thus enabling a better control for diseases by the physicians in the country. This machinery has also given more control of ailments to the physicians. Nongovernmental organizations have also provided their support to hospice and palliative centers by providing equipment of and resources needed. There have been provisions of special palliative care units that deal with some of special cases that may arise. These offer consultation services and help to some of the aged population under their care. These units have staff trained to handle some of the cases which may arise. With all these benefits, also come with several ethical issues that may be cause a need for evaluation for the hospice services. With the use of this advanced equipment, there has been increased cost of management and servicing of this equipment leading strain on the hospice management for resources. The equipment has also prolonged the life of the patients to go beyond the six months intended. This has surpasses government and hospice policies of supporting aged patients for a maximum of six months. The overall effect is that the hospice services are being forced to cut their support for some of patients who cannot afford to pay. The government also is forced to regulate its funding to the Medicare Hospice Policy (Meir, 20 ; Goldberg, 5). There is also issue of moral obligation and the effect that may arise from use of some of equipment. Some of the patients have developed other complications while using medication or equipment for their disease. They may die from these complications prematurely hence lead to some questions raised on hospice administration. There is also the right of the patient to choose when to die after suffering from their diseases. For instance, the family may decide to put their member on life support system to try prolonging their life, while the patient may have wished to die. There is also the case where a patient may be in too much suffering and may request to be allowed to die (Hoffman & Tarzian, 4). Hospice and palliative centers are greatly assisting the government and the American aged populations live comfortably before they die. Despite numeral challenges, their efforts are bearing fruit as life expectancy has increased for the aged. The government should increase the support and solicit for funds from other organizations to enable these centers work more effectively. Works cited Goldberg, Larry. H. “Clinical Review Article: A Survey of Hospital and Palliative Care: Part 1 Introduction And Concepts.” Web. http://www.turner-white.com/pdf/hp_dec04_hospice.pdf. 15th may 2012. Hoffman, Dianne. E and Anita Tarzian, J. “Dying in America - An Examination of Policies that Deter Adequate End-of-life Care in Nursing Homes.” Journal of Law Ethic and Medicine Vol 33 Issue 2: Wiley Online Library January 2007. Web. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2005.tb00495.x/pdf. 15th May 2012 Meier, Diane. E. (M.D.) “The Development, Status, and Future Of Palliative Care.” Web. http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/4558.pdf. 15th May 2012. Read More