Compassion and Empathy at the End of Life: Advanced Care Planning Takes a Giant Step Forward

On July 8, 2015, Medicare took a significant step towards helping people make the right decisions for their care by proposing to pay in 2016 for physicians who spend at least 30 minutes discussing and documenting patient preferences and values at the end of life that may be used to guide decisions for Advanced Directives. This proposal which is part of the proposed rules for 2016 physician reimbursement is now open for public comment. Because this part of the 2016 physician payment program has widespread support, I expect it to be written into the final rule. This will help physicians focus on the patient's desires and beliefs and help them to make the correct decisions for themselves regarding whether they want resuscitation efforts if their heart stops beating, and if they want life support on a respirator, or whether they want comfort measures only. Supporters of these Medicare payments for end of life counseling include (along with many others) the American Association of Family Practice, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, the Alzheimer's Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Livestrong, and the National Council on Aging. At the same time that the administration is proposing these rules for payments, congress itself is moving the issue forward. Senators Isakson and Warner have proposed the Care Planning Act of 2015. This act also directs Medicare reimbursement for discussion and planning for end ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news