New law expands the right to information
By Christina Clift
On June 6, 2019 A new state regulation went into effect that aims to help Tennessee's hospitals to integrate family caregivers into their loved ones’ medical records. This only makes sense, since according to The Tennessee AARP, sixty percent of Tennesseans 45 and older are currently providing unpaid care for a loved one. That’s nearly one million people that are caregivers for a family member.
The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable, or CARE, Act requires hospitals to inform family caregivers when their loved ones have been discharged from the hospital.
“The CARE Act is designed to improve communication and coordination between medical facilities and caregivers,” said Kim Daugherty, Executive Director of the Aging Commission of the Mid-South, “and is a step forward for improving healthcare in our state.”
In 2015, a telephone survey found more than 80 percent of registered voters in the state, age 45 and older, supported the CARE Act. In addition to household chores, family caregivers increasingly are performing medical and nursing tasks, such as managing multiple medications, administering injections and using special equipment.
But despite that, these family caregivers were not kept informed on changes in their loved ones care by hospital staff. This legislation removes barriers and facilitates communication by mandating that all Tennessee hospitals must comply with a patient's wish to give updates about their healthcare to designated individuals.
The Tennessee AARP, the state Department of Health and the Hospital Association of Tennessee worked to craft the regulation. Similar CARE Act provisions have either been adopted or are under consideration in 40 states. The CARE act provides for:
The name of the family caregiver to be documented in a patient’s medical record upon being admitted to a hospital.
The family caregiver is notified when a loved one is to be discharged to another facility or returning home.
The facility must provide an explanation and live instruction of the medical tasks that need to be done for that patient.
With the passage of the CARE Act, caregivers will be more informed on how they can help their loved one and know when and where they are being discharged. The enactment of this regulation puts even more control in the patients hands and gives them a stronger voice on who is involved with their care.
On June 6, 2019 A new state regulation went into effect that aims to help Tennessee's hospitals to integrate family caregivers into their loved ones’ medical records. This only makes sense, since according to The Tennessee AARP, sixty percent of Tennesseans 45 and older are currently providing unpaid care for a loved one. That’s nearly one million people that are caregivers for a family member.
The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable, or CARE, Act requires hospitals to inform family caregivers when their loved ones have been discharged from the hospital.
“The CARE Act is designed to improve communication and coordination between medical facilities and caregivers,” said Kim Daugherty, Executive Director of the Aging Commission of the Mid-South, “and is a step forward for improving healthcare in our state.”
In 2015, a telephone survey found more than 80 percent of registered voters in the state, age 45 and older, supported the CARE Act. In addition to household chores, family caregivers increasingly are performing medical and nursing tasks, such as managing multiple medications, administering injections and using special equipment.
But despite that, these family caregivers were not kept informed on changes in their loved ones care by hospital staff. This legislation removes barriers and facilitates communication by mandating that all Tennessee hospitals must comply with a patient's wish to give updates about their healthcare to designated individuals.
The Tennessee AARP, the state Department of Health and the Hospital Association of Tennessee worked to craft the regulation. Similar CARE Act provisions have either been adopted or are under consideration in 40 states. The CARE act provides for:
The name of the family caregiver to be documented in a patient’s medical record upon being admitted to a hospital.
The family caregiver is notified when a loved one is to be discharged to another facility or returning home.
The facility must provide an explanation and live instruction of the medical tasks that need to be done for that patient.
With the passage of the CARE Act, caregivers will be more informed on how they can help their loved one and know when and where they are being discharged. The enactment of this regulation puts even more control in the patients hands and gives them a stronger voice on who is involved with their care.
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