One of the biggest concerns patients and their families have when deciding whether or not to use hospice care is medication.
Many people fear hospice because they believe that stopping medications can lead to accelerating death. This isn’t true.
Hospice actually extends life by focusing on a relief-based, rather than a curative approach. The decision to terminate medications is always discussed with the patient and family.
While each case is different, sometimes it is best to stop taking aggressive medicine that causes discomfort and unintended, negative side effects.
The focus of hospice and palliative care is to help the patient be more comfortable during their last moments of life.
To learn more about Stein Hospice please contact Bruce Birnberg, LCSW, Executive Director, at (732) 227-1212 or email [email protected].
Read all of the posts in our series about Hospice Myths »