Posted on Friday, April 13, 2018 3:52 PM
By JoNel Aleccia
A New York end-of-life agency, End of Life Choices New York, has approved a new document that let’s people stipulate in advance that they do not want food or water if they develop sever dementia. Legally, this is unchartered and legally uncertain territory.
Dementia, while not life threatening, is many people’s worst nightmare. This directive would allow people to decide ahead of time if they want comfort feeding only or no assisted drinking or eating at all. People who have these directives in place are more likely to have them followed if they stay in their own home. Patients should make their wishes known as far in advance as possible.
“Whether the new directive will be honored in New York — or anywhere else — is unclear. Legal scholars and ethicists say directives withdrawing oral assisted feeding are prohibited in several states. Many care facilities are unlikely to cooperate, said Thaddeus Pope, director of the Health Law Institute at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., and an expert on end-of-life law. Doctors have a duty to honor patient wishes, but they can refuse if they have medical or moral qualms.”
Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
Click here for the full article.
About Corridor
Corridor is the nation’s preferred partner and trusted business advisor to home health and hospice providers, providing quality services and impactful results for 30 years. Focusing on key operational, regulatory and financial challenges, Corridor delivering industry-unique solutions and deep expertise in coding, clinical documentation review, compliance, billing and collections , consulting and provider staff education . At Corridor, we make the business of caring for people Better! For the most important industry updates and news that impacts home health and hospice, please make sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive the latest up-to-date industry information direct to your inbox!
For additional information, please contact Corridor at 1-866-263-3795.
