Obama: Hospitals Must Honor End-of-Life Wishes

President Obama has released a memo that protects the wishes of hospital patients on Medicare and Medicaid who are nearing the ends of their lives, according to an article that appeared on the online version of McKnight's Long-Term Care News.

Obama's memo, directed to the Department of Health and Human Services, asks the agency to "ensure that all hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid are in full compliance with regulations...to guarantee that all patients' advance directives, such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies, are respected, and that patients' representatives otherwise have the right to make informed decisions regarding patients' care."

The memo also expands the rights of individuals to choose to see hospital visitors who are not family members.