The law is intended to encourage possible life-sustaining treatment in the event that they become seriously ill or injured and are not able to specify their desires at that time. According to this law; all hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, and hospice programs receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid are now required to create formal procedures that provide written information at admission to patients about decision making a treatment refusal rights in their healthcare. It means that patients have the right and ability to make their own choices and decisions about medical care and treatment they will receive as long as those decisions are within the limits of the law. It would make
living wills much more important to have done to protect patient rights. I think records management has gotten stronger due to this act that was passed. They must make sure they are doing everything by the law and not missing any steps involved in this process. This is to help the state, the patient and the doctor’s office, nursing homes, etc. out to make sure they are covering all aspects of someone’s life. With this act in place patients have to right to decide what they want to do with their life if they were put in a certain predicament. Offices must make sure they are noting everything someone says in their files so they have proof on what this person is talking about in case someone comes along and wants to see what this person was saying. Sometimes a patient will have a third party involved and all this information must be noted in the patients file.