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NEW HOSPITAL
DISCHARGE RULES FOR OLDER PATIENTS
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A law that went into effect in July of
2007,
requires hospitals to better
ensure that Medicare beneficiaries know their rights before
being discharged, and outlines how to object when a patient or
family member feels release is medically premature. While the
new rules are designed to protect patients, they will require
more paperwork and hours from hospital employees, including
additional administrative visits to hospital rooms, which
recovering persons may find bothersome. A document has long
been
issued to inform Medicare beneficiaries of their rights, but
theold law's guidelines simply mandated it be provided within two
days of a patient's admission - times often preoccupied by the
immediacy and stress of tests, procedures, and results. The
notification, an "Important Message from Medicare," now
features
a clearer explanation of patients' rights, and will be
provided
to families both after arrival and before departure. Hospital
staff delivering the information must be able to answer
questions about the policy, and for the first time, patients
or
their legal representatives must sign the paper. If a
discharge
is contested, hospitals have until noon the next day to
provide
detailed explanations of why a patient is ready for release
and
how to continue an appeal.
Thanks to:
Alliance for Retired Americans
815 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
www.retiredamericans.org
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