Chapter 474
AN ACT
SB 16
Relating to hospice programs; amending ORS 443.850, 443.860 and
443.870.
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
ORS 443.850 is amended to read:
443.850. As used in ORS
443.850 to 443.870:
(1) “Hospice program”
means a coordinated program of home and inpatient care, available 24 hours a
day, that utilizes an interdisciplinary team of personnel trained to provide
palliative and supportive services to a patient-family unit experiencing a life
threatening disease with a limited prognosis. A hospice program is an
institution for purposes of ORS 146.100.
(2) “Hospice services”
means items and services provided to a patient-family unit by a hospice program
or by other individuals or community agencies under a consulting or contractual
arrangement with a hospice program. Hospice services include acute, respite,
home care and bereavement services provided to meet the physical, psychosocial,
spiritual and other special needs of a patient-family unit during the final
stages of illness, dying and the bereavement period.
(3) “Interdisciplinary
team” means a group of individuals working together in a coordinated manner to
provide hospice care. An interdisciplinary team includes, but is not limited to,
the patient-family unit, the patient’s attending physician or
clinician and one or more of the following hospice program personnel:
Physician, nurse practitioner, nurse, nurse’s aide, occupational
therapist, physical therapist, trained lay volunteer, clergy or spiritual
counselor, and credentialed mental health professional such as psychiatrist,
psychologist, psychiatric nurse or social worker.
(4) “Patient-family unit”
includes an individual who has a life threatening disease with a limited
prognosis and all others sharing housing, common ancestry or a common personal
commitment with the individual.
(5) “Person” includes
individuals, organizations and groups of organizations.
SECTION 2.
ORS 443.860 is amended to read:
443.860. (1) Except as
provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, no person shall establish,
conduct or maintain a hospice program providing hospice services, or hold
itself out to the public as a hospice program, without:
(a) Certification by the
federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a program of hospice
services meeting standards for Medicare reimbursement; and
(b)(A)
Accreditation by the
[(c)] (B) Accreditation by the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations as a program of hospice services.
(2) The Oregon Hospice
Association may accredit hospices which are not members of the Oregon Hospice
Association.
(3) Any person who is in
the process of developing a hospice program may use the term “hospice” to describe
and refer to the program of services during its development for up to two
years. However, no hospice services to patients or their families shall be
provided by a hospice until accreditation or certification is obtained.
(4) Any person may
operate a hospice program for a period of not more than 90 consecutive days if
the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or the Oregon Hospice
Association acknowledges in writing that accreditation or certification is
pending and the Oregon Hospice Association authorizes that operations may
commence.
(5) A certified or
accredited hospice need not obtain a license pursuant to ORS 443.015 unless it
meets the definition of a home health agency and receives direct compensation
for home health care services from the patient, insurers, Medicare or Medicaid.
Compensation paid to licensed professionals is not direct compensation.
(6) Except as
provided in subsection (5) of this section, accreditation and certification
under subsection (1) of this section may be considered equivalent to licensure
as a hospice program by the State of
SECTION 3.
ORS 443.870 is amended to read:
443.870. (1) The
Oregon Hospice Association shall maintain and operate a registry of all
certified and accredited hospice programs and all developing hospice programs
and shall make such records available to the public.
(2) Hospice programs
on the registry shall provide utilization data requested by the
(3) The
Approved by the Governor June 19, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 19, 2007
Effective date January 1, 2008
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