FAQs
End of Life Care
End of life care has always been important and for that reason Hoag has a comprehensive palliative care program. The Palliative Care Team provides inpatient and outpatient services to maximize the quality of life for people with serious and life-threatening illnesses. The focus is on preventing, treating, reducing or removing discomfort whenever and however it appears through careful attention to pain and symptom management. Palliative care respectfully addresses well-being and treats physical, emotional, social, spiritual and financial needs. The Hoag program, which is based on national best practices and has emerged as a national leader, has helped thousands of people endure a difficult time.
End of Life Option Act
The request for aid-in-dying is a doctor-patient decision. Participation in activities authorized under the new legislation is voluntary. The legislation allows for organizations and physicians to elect not to participate in dispensing end of life drugs to patients. Hoag and the Hoag Medical Staff have chosen to use palliative care to treat patients with serious and life-threatening illnesses. The focus is on preventing, treating, reducing or removing discomfort whenever and however it appears through careful attention to pain and symptom management. Palliative care respectfully addresses well-being and treats physical, emotional, social, spiritual and financial needs. This means the dispensing of end of life drugs will not take place at a Hoag facility. It is important to note that independent members of Hoag Medical Staff are able to make autonomous decisions regarding their participation in what will be a legal option for their patients; however, those personal decisions are limited while exercising privileges at Hoag.
FAQs
End of life care has always been important at Hoag. The Palliaitve Care Team provides inpatient and outpatient services to maximize the quality of life for people with serious and life-threatening illnesses. The focus is on preventing, treating, reducing or removing discomfort whenever and however it appears through careful attention to pain and symptom management.
More information about our services can be found on our End of Life page.
Palliative care respectfully addresses well-being and treats physical, emotional, social, spiritual and needs. The palliative care program, which is based on national best practices and has emerged as a national leader, has helped thousands of people endure a difficult time.
More information about our services can be found on our Palliative Care page.
Yes. Hoag honors the advance health care directives of our patients, and hospital staff and practitioners who provide care in the hospital must follow the health care decisions of a patient’s agent or surrogate. However, Hoag providers may decline to comply with an individual health care instruction or decision for reasons of conscience, or because the care would be medically ineffective or contrary to generally accepted health care standards. If this causes a disagreement with an agent or surrogate that cannot be resolved, the hospital staff and practitioners will make every reasonable effort to find another health care provider to take over your treatment. Advance health care directive forms can be downloaded by clicking here. If you have specific questions about your care, we encourage you to speak directly to your physician.
No. Participation in activities authorized under the new legislation is voluntary. Hoag and the Hoag Medical Staff have chosen to use palliative care to treat patients with serious and life-threatening illnesses. This means the dispensing of end of life drugs will not take place at a Hoag facility. Based on our research, the vast majority of people who would choose this option would want to do so in a home, not a hospital. For that reason, we do not think our decision will have any practical impact on access to this option.
The focus at Hoag is on preventing, treating, reducing or removing discomfort whenever and however it appears through careful attention to pain and symptom management. Palliative care respectfully addresses well-being and treats physical, emotional, social, spiritual and financial needs. More information about our palliative care services can be found on our Palliative Care page.
Hoag now and in the future, will fully inform patients about the full spectrum of options they have available to them in their care. Our advance directives policies are designed to keep our patients’ wishes as the center of all that we do, and honor patients’ desires within the boundaries of current laws.
More information about our services can be found on our End of Life page.