Criteria for Palliative Care

Live Better with Palliative Care

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious and chronic illnesses. It focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.

Palliative care is provided by a team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. Non-hospice palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness.

But what are the palliative care guidelines? Here is a list of signs that you or your loved one could be ready to receive palliative care services:

• Diagnosis of chronic illness
• Frequent ER visits or hospital admissions for the same condition
• Declining ability to complete activities of daily living
• Substantial weight loss
• Uncontrolled pain and symptoms
• Patient is NOT terminal and does NOT qualify for hospice, however has a chronic or late stage illness that requires complex care and attention
• Limited social and home resources and service support
• Cognitive impairment and declining
• Difficulty controlling physical or emotional symptoms related to illness
• Patient and/or family uncertainty regarding prognosis
• Patient, family and/or physician uncertainty regarding goals of care
• Chronic home oxygen use

If you believe that you or a loved one meet this criteria and are eligible to palliative care, contact our team today to set up a consultation with our team of experts. We can create a customized plan of care to help you live better every day.