Cardiac Hospice Care-A Collaborative Approach to Managing Heart Failure

As treatments for end-stage heart failure (ESHF) have become more available, patients with ESHF may encounter decisional dilemmas as their condition progresses and they seek more comfort-based care. Those who want to continue therapeutic treatments such as inotropic therapy, may face the challenge of finding a hospice agency willing to integrate this therapy into the hospice benefit model. This article highlights one hospice agency's willingness to explore common barriers to admitting patients receiving inotropic therapy, and addresses the trajectory of patient care when hospice collaboratively partners with cardiology services. It outlines operational development for providing cardiac focused care in hospice, and speaks to next steps for expanding these services. Most importantly, it acknowledges the profound effect on patients who are offered the choice to return home with hospice while receiving cardiac therapeutic care.