6 myths about hospice care: Educating patients, families and clinicians

From pain and symptom management to emotional and spiritual support, hospice care can improve and even extend life for some patients with advanced illness, as well as offer respite for their families. Yet, this vital resource is severely underutilized, particularly in New York, which ranks 50th among all states in the utilization of hospice. On this episode, two palliative care experts discuss barriers to care and debunk the most common myths about hospice. Guests: Tara Liberman, DO, is executive director for Northwell Health’s Hospice Care Network, which takes care of patients from Putnam, Westchester, Staten Island, Queens, Nassau County and Suffolk County. Mia Clar, MD, is an outpatient geriatrician & assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Chapters 00:01 - Intro 01:32 - What is hospice? 02:19 - Biggest misconceptions 03:53 - Can patients get off of hospice if they improve? 04:37 - Can you keep your doctor? 06:06 - Training clinicians 07:40 - A sense of dignity 08:57 - Why is hospice so underutilized? 09:41 - Having that conversation 10:27 - How does hospice referral work? 11:04 - Who is getting hospice? 11:53 - Is hospice covered by insurance? 14:05 - Cultural concerns with hospice 17:16 - If only I had known earlier