Dr. Khalid Mahmoud Shirif is a medical director who leads various practices, including Vanguard Physician Group, Traditions Hospice, and Sunrise Health. Dr. Khalid Mahmoud Shirif specializes in palliative and hospice care besides being a surgeon. Hospice and palliative care are often used interchangeably. However, both types of care differ in delivery.
Palliative care is a medical field that improves the quality of life of a patient. It includes treating symptoms such as nausea, sleep problems, or pain. It helps a patient understand their illness better, talk openly about how they feel, decide on a choice of treatment, and communicate better with their physician and nurse.
Palliative care is not dependent on the illness’ stage and is available when the patient is diagnosed, whether they are receiving life-prolonging or curative treatments. On the other hand, hospice care is only available towards the patient’s life end. It is usually recommended when the sickness is no longer curable or when the patient has decided to forego any life-prolonging treatment. For a patient to qualify for hospice care, they might have less than six months to live.
Khalid Shirif 