In the age of technology and the internet, there’s no shortage of digital resources that can help to help make life just a little bit easier. For many, those resources come in the form of mobile apps. While lots of these may seem unnecessary or even a little intimidating to figure out, there are lots that are easy to use and can prove worthy aids for loved ones and family caregivers of hospice and palliative care patients.
Patients and families often ask, “what is end-stage liver disease?” It’s a good question given that end-stage liver disease is a term that covers an array of different conditions that affect the liver. This includes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, liver cancer, alcohol-related liver disease, hepatitis B or C and other illnesses, infections, and diseases that affect the liver and bile ducts. When a patient’s liver disease reaches cirrhosis, a stage when the liver damage can no longer be reversed, it becomes a terminal diagnosis.
Cliff* is a 75-year-old male with leukemia receiving hospice care from Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care. Cliff was raised in church. He describes a time when he was eight years old at a church worship service where he felt the very presence of God.
Prescription medication is a powerful tool to fight infection, pain, depression, and other signs and symptoms of illness. Taken properly, they can dramatically improve quality of life. Taken improperly, they can lead to addiction, dangerous side effects and even death.
As the nation’s healthcare system moves from volume- to value-based care and increased engagement with patients, there is a new emphasis on patient-centered care. Healthcare providers are beginning to see their patients less as a medical diagnosis and more as an individual person with a life and needs beyond a diagnostic billing code.
The American Case Management Association states that “the goal of case management is to maintain optimal patient health status across the continuum of care in a manner that emphasizes both individual control over decisions and stewardship of resources regardless of provider.”
