Compliance with patients' end-of-life wishes by nursing homes in New York City with conscience policies.
Nursing home patients have a constitutional right to refuse treatment. The Patient Self-Determination Act confirmed that right. State laws address the obligations of health care providers and facilities to honor that right. The New York State law is more specific than those of many other states. It allows exemptions for "reasons of conscience" and imposes a number of requirements on nursing homes claiming such an exemption, including the transfer of a patient to a home that will honor an end-of-life wish. This study, conducted by FRIA, investigated the refusal of some nursing homes in New York City to carry out patients' end-of-life wishes because of conscience-based objections. The study also investigated the willingness of homes which did not have such policies to accept patients transferring from a home with a policy so that the patient's end-of-life wishes would be honored. Implications for administrators, policy makers, and regulators are discussed.
Hosay
C K
CK
Department of Health Services, Lehman College of CUNY, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, G-431, Bronx, NY 10468, USA.
D024362:Advance Directive Adherence; D016223:Advance Directives / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003242:Conscience; D030881:Disclosure; D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D005066:Euthanasia, Passive; D006801:Humans; D009518:New York; D009519:New York City; D009735:Nursing Homes; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010360:Patient Transfer; D016414:Resuscitation Orders; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires