Which facilities are typically covered by the Patient Self-Determination Act?

• A. Hospitals, hospices, and nursing facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid.
• B. Only private clinics.
• C. All employers and employees.
• D. Only patients with verbal consent.

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that the Patient Self-Determination Act applies to health care facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funds. It requires these facilities to inform patients about their rights to make decisions about their care, including the right to have an advance directive, and to document whether such directives exist. That’s why the best description is hospitals, hospices, and nursing facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid—they participate in these programs and must provide (and document) information about advance directives.

Private clinics that don’t take Medicare/Medicaid aren’t required by PSDA to provide this; the scope isn’t about all health settings, just those that accept federal funding. It also isn’t about employers or simply about verbal consent; PSDA focuses on patient rights related to advance directives within covered care facilities.