What is the focus of hospice care?

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Hospice care centers on comfort and quality of life for people with a terminal illness. The focus is on relieving pain and other distressing symptoms, addressing emotional, social, and spiritual needs, and supporting both the patient and the family as goals of care are guided by the patient’s preferences. It is typically appropriate when a prognosis suggests six months or less if the disease runs its normal course, and the aim is palliative rather than curative treatment. Care can occur at home or in a hospice setting and is delivered by an interdisciplinary team that coordinates medical, psychosocial, and practical support, including advance care planning and bereavement resources.

This best describes hospice because it emphasizes comfort, symptom management, and patient-centered goals at the end of life, rather than pursuing cures, aggressive life-prolonging therapies, or acute emergency stabilization.