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Home Health & Hospice Week

Industry Notes:

New Law: NY Patients Get End Of Life Counseling

Published on Fri Jan 28, 2011

Hospices in New York may soon see if more education will lead to better utilization of the hospice benefit. The New York Palliative Care Information Act, a law that takes effect Feb. 9, mandates that a "patient's attending health care practitioner shall offer to provide the patient with information and counseling regarding palliative care and end-of-life options appropriate to the patient" either verbally or in writing. But not every physician must have the discussion, the law states. A practitioner who feels undereducated about or uncomfortable with discussing hospice or other palliative options can either arrange for another provider to have the talk or can transfer the patient to a provider who's better able to guide the patient, the Associated Press reports. Also, patients who aren't interested in having an end-of-life discussion can opt out of it, the regulation stipulates. Advocates for the regulation insist it will help patients with advanced medical [...]
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