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PENINSULA
HOME CARE INFORMS, EDUCATES AND DRIVES
AWARENESS ON NEW END-OF-LIFE HEALTH
CARE REGULATION
Plans
for Maryland Medical Orders for Life
Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) Regulation
to take effect in coming months
SALISBURY, MD - It is never easy to
make end-of-life health care decisions
for yourself or a loved one. Health
care professionals and lawmakers in
Maryland have recognized that the process
and paperwork involved with medical
treatment options is often cumbersome,
confusing and overwhelming for many
patients and their families.
"In an effort to minimize concerns
and streamline the decision-making process,
a new regulation in the state of Maryland,
referred to as Maryland MOLST (Medical
Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment)
has been initiated to help guide patients
and health care professionals through
the process and ensure the patient's
wishes for medical care are carried
out.
The law, scheduled to go into effect
this year, requires a Maryland MOLST
form be completed by or for all individuals
admitted to nursing homes, assisted
living facilities, hospices, home health
agencies, and dialysis centers. The
MOLST form is intended to help physicians
and other health care providers discuss
and convey a patient's wishes regarding
cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other
life-sustaining treatments.
MOLST orders should be completed for
any person who:
-
Wants to avoid and / or receive life-sustaining
treatments;
- Resides
in a long-term care facility or requires
long-term care services; and/or
-
Is at risk of dying within the next
year
"The
MOLST form should prove to be beneficial
to both patients and providers because
it delivers specific orders for medical
treatment and will be recognized in
a variety of health care settings,"
said Stephanie Mitchell, director of
clinical operations, Peninsula Home
Care. "It will also help patients
and decision makers understand life-sustaining
treatments and discuss them with health
care practitioners."
Completion of the MOLST form will begin
with a conversation between the patient
and a qualified, trained health care
professional. The process allows for
any health care professional to define
the patient's goals for care, review
possible treatment options on the MOLST
form and ensure shared, informed medical
decision-making. All MOLST orders, however,
must be signed by a Maryland licensed
physician or nurse practitioner.
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