Section 1339.31 Of Article 10.5. Special Hospital: Hospice From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 10.5.
1339.31
. For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
(a) "Hospice" means a specialized form of multidisciplinary health
care which is designed to provide palliative care, alleviate the
physical, emotional, social and spiritual discomforts of an
individual who is experiencing the last phases of life due to the
existence of a terminal disease, and to provide supportive care for
the primary care giver and the family of the hospice patient, and
which meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Considers the patient and the patient's family, in addition to
the patient, as the unit of care.
(2) Utilizes a multidisciplinary team to assess the physical,
medical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of the patient
and the patient's family.
(3) Requires the multidisciplinary team to develop an overall plan
of care and to provide coordinated care, which emphasizes supportive
services such as home care, pain control, and limited inpatient
services. Limited inpatient services are intended to ensure both
continuity of care and appropriateness of services for those patients
who cannot be managed at home because of acute complications or the
temporary absence of a capable primary care giver.
(4) Provides for the palliative medical treatment of pain and
symptoms associated with a terminal illness but does not provide for
efforts to cure disease.
(5) Provides for bereavement following death to assist the family
to cope with social and emotional needs associated with the death of
the patient.
(6) Actively utilizes volunteers in the delivery of hospice
services.
(7) To the extent appropriate, based on the medical needs of the
patient, provides services in the patient's home or primary place of
residence.
(b) "Palliative care" means interventions that focus primarily on
reduction or abatement of pain and other disease-related symptoms,
rather than treatment aimed at investigation and intervention for the
purpose of cure or prolongation of life.
(c) "Primary care giver" means the individual who is identified as
the primary person charged with responsibility for the care of the
hospice patient who agrees to accept that responsibility. The
individual designated may be a family member, a friend or an
individual hired by the hospice patient but shall be an individual
who is actually available to provide 24-hour coverage for care of the
hospice patient. However, it shall not be necessary that the
individual reside in the hospice patient's home.
(d) "Primary place of residence" means the patient's long-term
residence and includes the patient's home, a friend's home, a
congregate living health facility, a hospice residential care
facility, or a skilled nursing facility if the patient resides there
on a permanent full-time basis.
(e) "Special hospital: hospice" means a health facility which is a
component part of a hospice, as defined in subdivision (a), and
which provides general inpatient care, as defined in federal Medicare
program regulations adopted pursuant to Section 1861(dd)(2) and
Section 1814(a)(7) of the federal Social Security Act.
(f) "Terminal illness" means a medical condition resulting in a
life expectancy of the patient of six months, or less.