Palliative Care and End of Life Care

End of Life Care

Two of the most critical and tumultuous time periods for a person and their family can be when end of life care and palliative care are necessary. At Concierge Internal Medicine, we understand this and are experienced in providing the best support and guidance to help patients and their loved ones navigate this difficult time as best as possible. The first step to this is beginning to understand what these care plans entail.

Palliative Care

Palliative care is care that is provided to patients with serious or chronic illnesses. It is typically carried out by a team of physicians that are experienced and well-versed in handling the specific illness or illnesses of that type. Palliative care begins from the moment of diagnosis and runs through the entirety of treatment. It is centered around the patient’s quality of life and managing and preventing suffering to the greatest extent possible. The most important aspect of quality Palliative care is managing all the different aspects of treating chronic and severe illness: physical, mental, emotional, and social among others, Dr. Daniel Boss is highly experienced in making sure all of these are met and accounted for when creating a treatment plan built around the individual patients themselves.

End of Life Care

Everyone understands that at a certain point in a patient’s treatment the focus needs to shift from curing to making the remainder of a patient’s time as comfortable as possible given the spread of an illness or disease. This can be an emotionally heavy and grief filled time for everyone involved. Having a team in place to help provide guidance and care to ease the day to day maladies of the patient can help during this time period. It is important for everyone to know that a patient is in as good of hands as possible during their last days, and Concierge Internal Medicine can help coordinate caregivers to provide additional support as an option. End of life care also comes with the option of having emotional and mental guidance through hospice provided to families to give counsel as they go through these last days or weeks which can be beneficial for both the patient and their family.

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Hospice at Home Versus Home Health Services

End of Life Care

Open communication between concierge members is critical aspect of maintaining good health at Concierge Internal Medicine. The decision to utilize hospice care or home health care services is important when treating a patient dealing with a terminal illness. Dr. Daniel Boss is well versed in working with both hospices in Northern Palm Beach County. With over 20 years experience, Dr. Daniel Boss has worked with both Trustbridge and Vitas, the two local hospice organizations.

Medicare Home Health Services

Home Health Services is another option for patients for additional care support. Home care services are direct billed by the Medicare certified home health agency and follow the direct order for home treatment from Concierge Internal Medicine. Visiting nurse, home physical and occupational therapists are available for patients upon qualifying for services. Medicare requires patients are homebound due to a health-set back and require patients are under the supervised medical care of a physician such as Dr. Daniel Boss. There is no co-pay or out of pocket expense to patients receiving home health care. Home care services are billed under Medicare Part A.

Hospice Care Services

Patient needs are our primary focus to minimize any physical stress, psychological stress and offer supportive pain management when appropriate. Unfortunately the current hospice systems are dictated by cost contamination considerations due to profitability and patient care can become secondary.

Once a patient or family member has opted for hospice service for end of life care, a new primary care physician that works for the hospice entity will be the physician of record. Families and patients alike can be assured that Dr. Daniel Boss will continue to communicate and clarify any concerns while under hospice treatment.

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