“What is the purpose of hospice anesthesia?”
I am a 34 year old male. I was wondering what is the purpose of hospice anesthesia?
4 Answers
Hospice anesthesia is a branch of palliative medicine. It involves the administration of a variety of medicines to control symptoms in patients who are terminally ill.
I believe an anesthetist is skilled in pain management to help terminal patients or palliative management.
Hospice refers to care of a patient focused on comfort and pain relief that occurs when somebody has a terminal condition. People can still undergo medical care while on hospice, but generally procedures are focused on alleviating pain or facilitating care from the nursing standpoint. The only way that anesthesia applies here is, in my mind, simply anesthesia provided for medical care of a patient who is on hospice.
I hope that I am interpreting your question correctly. The purpose of anesthesia in any setting is the prevention or relief of pain for the benefit of the patient in question. In a hospice setting, this may mean keeping the patient’s pain level tolerable or making them comfortable so that they can enjoy their limited time as much as they are able.
