Peninsula Home Care Informs, Educates and Drives Awareness on New End-of-Life Health Care Regulation
Published on - October 1, 2011Plans 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 healthcare 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.
About Peninsula Home Care
Providing skilled nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy for more than 30 years, Peninsula Home Care ensures that all patients are involved in their plan of care and strives to give them every opportunity to maintain their independence in the home. The agency has served more than 50,000 patients in Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties in Maryland and Sussex and Kent counties in Delaware. In 2017, PHC and PHCN were designated as Preferred Home Care Provider by Peninsula Regional Medical Center and Nanticoke Health Services.
