What is Palliative Care at Home?

People diagnosed with serious illnesses can receive palliative care at home to maintain or improve their quality of life and remain in comfortable settings. Though it may overlap with hospice services or end of life care, palliative care includes guidance and coordinated services from various healthcare providers to assist patients and their families in navigating stressors relating to serious illnesses, though they may not always be life-threatening conditions.

Palliative care plans are personalized and designed by an interdisciplinary team of care providers to meet each patient's needs. You can seek palliative care for a loved one as soon as they are diagnosed with a serious illness. Experts recommend that people begin palliative services as soon as possible to receive maximum benefits.

Research from the World Health Organization reveals that individuals with serious chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, cancer, and diabetes, experience better quality of life and a reduction in unnecessary hospitalizations if they receive care soon after the onset of illness. 

Palliative care continues to grow in prominence, as 61% of hospitals with 50 or more beds now employ palliative care teams. Moreover, the Center to Advance Palliative Care reports that around six million people in the United States could currently benefit from palliative care.

Palliative care at home is an interdisciplinary treatment method centered around improving the quality of life for patients with serious illnesses. Health care providers, including doctors and caregivers, typically collaborate on individualized palliative care plans. 

The choice to receive treatment at home over hospital care is highly personal and made on a case-by-case basis. This person-centered process requires a conversation about palliative care with your loved one, their primary doctor, and family members. Aim to have this conversation early in the illness to determine if palliative care is an ideal pathway. 

You might choose palliative home care over hospital care if you prioritize your loved one's quality of life, emotional health, and spiritual well-being. Moreover, palliative home care doesn't necessarily keep you from seeking a cure, as providers can integrate these services with other treatments. 

Palliative care at home is an option for anyone dealing with a serious illness, which they can begin immediately after receiving a diagnosis. It differs from hospice care, which is only available to patients expected to live six or fewer months. 

Palliative home care requires collaboration among doctors, nurses, and social workers, who provide services within their areas of expertise. This type of care addresses a patient's physical symptoms while providing other support services. 

With the right palliative care at home, patients may feel less pain, improve their sleep, and experience better mental wellness as they reduce emotional stress. 

Palliative care aims to improve an individual's overall quality of life at whatever stage they may be in their condition. The palliative care team also helps support families, as having a loved one with a serious illness may lead to significant anxiety and stress. 

Patients can receive palliative services in the comfort of their homes at any time after receiving a diagnosis. However, for terminal patients receiving hospice care, palliative services are given as a part of their end-of-life care at home.     

During palliative home care, the care team collaborates with the patient to treat symptoms associated with their disease or condition. In addition to providing medical services, the team aims to maximize quality of life and provide emotional and spiritual support. 

The following list covers several common elements of palliative care at home:

• Medication and Pain Management: The palliative care team collaborates to adjust dosages, alleviate pain, and minimize side effects as much as possible. 
• Spiritual Care: Spiritual care is a broad but central element of palliative care. It might include spending time with loved ones outdoors, mending broken relationships, attending religious services, and reflecting on the meaning of life. 
• Nutrition Support: Palliative care frequently includes nutritional assessments as a part of the general focus on well-being and quality of life. 
• Caregiver Support: Palliative home care plans frequently include input from loved ones and caregivers. Caregivers often receive support through resources, education, and respite care. 
• Assistance With Daily Living: If required, palliative care plans can include assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) like bathing or showering, maintaining hygiene, and getting dressed. 

Palliative care is different from home care and hospice care. Providers can deliver palliative care in patients' homes, independent living communities, and memory care facilities, among other settings. This type of care focuses on different aspects of patient well-being in conjunction with other treatments.   

Home hospice care is a special type of palliative home care that provides patients with medical, emotional, and spiritual support to reduce their suffering and improve their remaining quality of life. When comparing home care vs. hospice care, there are several key differences to consider. 

While hospice care includes medical care for pain and symptom management, those who are eligible for home care services can receive nonmedical care. Home care includes services such as cooking and housekeeping, as well as assistance with daily activities. Home care is also referred to as "in-home care" and may occur on a part-time basis or as 24 hour home care.

Hospice vs. palliative care comparisons demonstrate some key similarities and differences — hospice care is a type of palliative care provided to patients with a life expectancy of six months or fewer. In this case, palliative care would be a component of the hospice patient's hospice care at home. 

However, palliative care also treats patients with long life expectancies and people expected to have full recoveries. Hospice costs may differ slightly from palliative care costs.

​​Just as with nursing homes, assisted living, and hospice care at assisted living facilities, there is a time and place for palliative care at home. 

You might opt for palliative care at home over in-hospital or hospice care for several reasons, including:

• Higher Comfort and Quality of Life: Palliative care centers around providing patients with a high quality of life, allowing them to experience more comfort during the end-of-life stage. 
• More Time With Family and Loved Ones: Receiving care at home allows your senior loved ones more frequent and easier access to family time. 
• Personalized and Patient-Centric Care: Each palliative care plan is unique to the patient, ensuring that they receive the services they need. 
• Reduced Burden on Caregivers: Palliative care involves a collaboration between medical professionals, which lowers some of the decision-making stress placed on caregivers.
• You Can Still Seek a Cure: Despite the common perception, receiving palliative care at home and seeking a cure aren't mutually exclusive. You can still make regular trips to hospitals and health care clinics for diagnosis and treatment. 

If your loved one is experiencing a serious illness, you can ask about palliative care. 

You do not have to wait until their illness reaches a late or critical stage to start palliative care at home. Unlike hospice care, palliative home care becomes an option as soon as your loved one receives a diagnosis. It is not limited to patients receiving end of life care at home.

According to recent research, palliative care is most effective when started early, which helps to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and physician visits. In cancer patients, palliative care can improve quality of life and increase the odds of survival. 

While palliative care at home has become more common, it is still not available everywhere. Fill in your ZIP code, city, and state in our senior care directory to find care options near you. 

Our Family Advisors are also ready to help you find the right palliative care option for your senior loved one. Call them at (800) 973-1540 for customized, one-on-one service.

Various payment options can help your senior loved one access palliative care at home if providers offer these services in your area. Several factors can affect how you pay for palliative care — primarily the recipient's insurance plan.

Options for paying for palliative care at home include:

• Government assistance (Medicare, Medicaid)
• Private or employer-sponsored health insurance
• Veterans benefits
• Grants from nonprofit organizations
• Out of pocket

Palliative care focuses on various needs someone may have due to a life-threatening illness. It addresses physical symptoms, as well as psychological, social, and spiritual health issues.

Hospice patients can receive palliative care as part of their end of life care at home. However, it is also an option for others at any point after their illness diagnosis, regardless of whether they are expected to recover. Find out more by visiting our senior care resources hub. 

Additional reporting by Mikeie Reiland

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• Palliative care at home: what to expect for your loved one. (2024). Notre Dame Healthcare
• Palliative care facts and stats. (n.d.). Center to Advance Palliative Care
• Providing spiritual care. (2022). MarieCurie.org
• Understanding palliative care: it's not what you think. (2020). American Lung Association
• Vandergriendt, Carly. (2025). What is palliative care and what you need to know. Healthline
• Vandergriendt, Carly. (2025). What's the difference between palliative care and hospice? Healthline
• What are palliative care and hospice care? (2021). National Institute on Aging