The Ethics Of Hospice Care
Hospice is an incredible service that supports clients (and their families) when they’re nearing the end of their life. It is funded by Medicare to make it completely free and available to anyone who qualifies.
It is one of the most ethical, tender, and morale-centered clinical services in existence – and the Hospice Foundation of America, the National Association for Homecare & Hospice, and the millions of people who work for hospice strive to uphold high ethical standards.The Ethics Of Hospice Care Are Anchored Around Core Themes
The ethical standards guiding hospice care, which are specifically designed to support clients and their loved ones, are anchored around eight core themes.Patient rights & responsibilities
A copy of our commitment to patient rights and responsibilities is visible in all hospice agencies and available to clients upon request. Ultimately, hospice care is available to anyone who qualifies regardless of age, race, culture, gender, religion/spiritual beliefs, etc. And all of our services are completely free. Ultimately, patients are in charge of their care. We are here to serve them and honor their wishes while providing complete access to the full spectrum of hospice care support. Your rights and our responsibility to patients include the right to:- Appropriate and professional care relating to physician orders.
- Choose their care providers (through hospice, Medicare/MediCal, or private insurance providers).
- Receive the information necessary to give informed consent before starting any procedure or treatment.
- Refuse treatment within the confines of the law and be informed of the consequences of his or her action.
- Complete privacy and confidentiality (hospice is governed by HIPAA).
- Receive a timely response to his or her request for service from the agency.
Relationships to other provider agencies
Hospice is not there to “take over.” Yes, clients must stop “curative treatments” to receive hospice but have complete access to prescriptions or therapies to manage existing conditions and relieve any side effects. So, hospice teams work diligently to collaborate with your current health team, specialists, or provider agencies needed to optimize your care.Responsibility to governing bodies
Hospice is governed by Medicare and related entities that oversee and enforce our compliance with their standard medical, legal, and ethical guidelines.Fiscal responsibilities
While hospice services are free to all clients, they are funded by Medicare and paid for by taxpayers. Therefore, we’re obligated to provide the highest quality services at the most reasonable expenses. It’s essential that those services are offered equitably and billed consistently with the amount and type of service provided. Other fiscal responsibilities we vow to uphold include:- The cost per visit includes only legitimate expenses
- Never engaging in kickbacks or payoffs.
- The salaries and benefits of the provider and administrative staff shall be consistent with the size of the agency, responsibility, and geographic location.
Our commitment to personnel
We bring the same level of attention to the ethics we guarantee to patients to our incredible personnel. Our agency knows that a positive, supportive, compassionate, and empowering company culture is essential to attracting and retaining top-notch personnel. Some of these ethical commitments we make to employees, staff, and personnel include:- Being an equal opportunity employer and complying with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
- Maintaining written personnel policies available to all employees and uniformly applied across the spectrum of our employees.
- Providing continuing education and in-service training for all employees to update the knowledge and skills needed to give competent patient care.
- Hiring adequate staffing to meet the needs of the patients to whom they render care.
- Maintaining a pay scale consistent with the geographical location, as well as the employees’ education, training, experience, and length of service with our agency.
Additional Ehtics Exemplified By Hospice Care
All of those bullet points and attention to equitable employment, patient care, and treatment are critical. However, we want to also amplify the ethical way in which we provide care to our clients and families.Hospice Takes A Whole-Person Approach
The Western medical/clinical model is slowly coming around to treating patients as whole people. However, much of what we witness is a very “one part” approach to medical care and treatment of patients before they come to our service. Once you opt to use palliative or hospice care, we are here to support more than your physical quality of life. Our team also assesses and supports your mental and emotional well-being. This is done via:- Continuous monitoring by our heart-full social workers.
- Visits from spiritual advisors.
- Grief support for you and your family.
- Access to volunteer services that provide everything from companionship and respite care to grocery deliveries and plant watering.
- Visits and services from any branch of your hospice team happen where you’re at, whether that be at home, in our hospice house, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living communities, etc.
- Deliveries of all medications, durable medical equipment, and other supplies related to your clinical, hospice, or comfort care.