Home Health & Hospice Week

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 [...]