Patient admission; assessment; plan of care; discharge; death.

(1) Each hospice shall make its services available to all terminally ill persons and their families without regard to age, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, diagnosis, cost of therapy, ability to pay, or life circumstances. A hospice shall not impose any value or belief system on its patients or their families and shall respect the values and belief systems of its patients and their families.

(2) Admission to a hospice program shall be made upon a diagnosis and prognosis of terminal illness by a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or chapter 459 and shall be dependent on the expressed request and informed consent of the patient.

(3) At the time of admission, the hospice shall inquire whether advance directives have been executed pursuant to chapter 765, and if not, provide information to the patient concerning the provisions of that chapter. The hospice shall also provide the patient with information concerning patient rights and responsibilities pursuant to s. 381.026.

(4) The admission process shall include a professional assessment of the physical, social, psychological, spiritual, and financial needs of the patient. This assessment shall serve as the basis for the development of a plan of care.

(5) Each hospice, in collaboration with the patient and the patient’s primary or attending physician, shall prepare and maintain a plan of care for each patient, and the care provided to a patient must be in accordance with the plan of care. The plan of care shall be made a part of the patient’s medical record and shall include, at a minimum:

(a) Identification of the primary caregiver, or an alternative plan of care in the absence of a primary caregiver, to ensure that the patient’s needs will be met.

(b) The patient’s diagnosis, prognosis, and preferences for care.

(c) Assessment of patient and family needs, identification of the services required to meet those needs, and plans for providing those services through the hospice care team, volunteers, contractual providers, and community resources.

(d) Plans for instructing the patient and family in patient care.

(e) Identification of the nurse designated to coordinate the overall plan of care for each patient and family.

(f) A description of how needed care and services will be provided in the event of an emergency.

(6) The hospice shall provide an ongoing assessment of the patient and family needs, update the plan of care to meet changing needs, coordinate the care provided with the patient’s primary or attending physician, and document the services provided.

(7) In the event a hospice patient chooses to be discharged or transferred to another hospice, the hospice shall arrange for continuing care and services and complete a comprehensive discharge summary for the receiving provider.

(8) The hospice care team may withhold or withdraw cardiopulmonary resuscitation if presented with an order not to resuscitate executed pursuant to s. 401.45. The agency shall adopt rules providing for the implementation of such orders. Hospice staff shall not be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability, nor be considered to have engaged in negligent or unprofessional conduct, for withholding or withdrawing cardiopulmonary resuscitation pursuant to such an order and applicable rules. The absence of an order to resuscitate executed pursuant to s. 401.45 does not preclude a physician from withholding or withdrawing cardiopulmonary resuscitation as otherwise permitted by law.

(9) The death of a person enrolled as a hospice patient shall be considered an attended death for the purposes of s. 406.11(1)(a)5. However, a hospice shall report the death to the medical examiner if any unusual or unexpected circumstances are present.