Medicare will pay doctors for end-of-life talks with patients

As of January 1, 2016 change to the Medi­care pro­gram that will re­im­burse phys­i­cians for hav­ing ad­vance care plan­ning con­ver­sa­tions with eld­erly pa­tients, craft­ing a per­son­al guide­book of sorts for a doc­tor to know just how ag­gress­ively (or min­im­ally) a pa­tient would like to be treated. Advanced care planning doesn’t mean shunning aggressive care or choosing a Do Not Resuscitate Order; people can also specify in their care directives that they want “everything done.”   Center to Advance Palliative Care – CAPC.ORG

For detailed information, contact Oklahoma State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Supervisors Ruben Sotelo, direct: 580-736-7975, sote_ru@ascog.org, or Darin Terry, direct: 580-736-7974, terr_da@ascog.org, toll free: 1-800-658-1466.