Dr. Perry G. Fine is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Utah, where he serves on the faculty of the Division of Pain Medicine and the Pain Research Center, and he is an attending physician in the Pain Management Center.

• 1. General Processes


• Palliative Care at the End of Life: Blending Structure and Function


• The Interdisciplinary Team (IDT)


• Documentation


• 2. Personal, Social, and Environmental Processes


• Abuse in the Home


• Advance Care Planning and Directives for Health-Care Interventions


• Changes in Body Image and Loss of Independence


• Changes in Family Dynamics


• Completing Worldly Business and Life Closure


• Controlled Substances: Misuse and Abuse


• Cultural Differences: Respect, Understanding, and Adapting Care


• Denial


• Grief Reactions


• Living Environment, Finances, and Support Systems


• Basic Home Safety


• Suicide: Risk Assessment, Prevention, and Coping If It Happens


• 3. Clinical Processes and Symptom Management


• Agitation and Anxiety


• Air Hunger (Dyspnea)


• Anorexia and Cachexia


• Belching and Burping (Eructation)


• Bleeding, Draining, and Malodorous Lesions


• Confusion/Delirium


• Constipation


• Coughing


• Depression


• Diarrhea and Anorectal Problems


• Dysphagia and Oropharyngeal Problems


• Edema: Peripheral Edema, Ascites, and Lymphedema


• Fatigue, Weakness (Aesthenia), and Excessive Sedation


• Fever, Flushing, and Diaphoresis


• Hiccups (Singultus)


• Imminent Death


• Insomnia and Nocturnal Restlessness


• Nausea and Vomiting


• Pain


• Pruritus


• Seizures


• Skeletal Muscle and Bladder Spasms


• Skin Breakdown: Prevention and Treatment


• Urinary Problems


• Xerostomia (Dry Mouth)


• 4. Appendices


• Appendix 1: Ketamine Protocol


• Appendix 2: Clinical/Functional Assessment and Staging


• Appendix 3: Lidocaine Infusions for Refractory Neuropathic Pain


• Appendix 4: Cannabis and Cannabinoids

The Hospice Companion is a guide to the processes of care during the intensive, interpersonal experiences of hospice work. This resource highlights the mission and values of modern-day hospice through the individual and combined efforts of the field's most valuable asset, the hospice professional.