2020 Maine Session Summary
Victory in the fight against cancer requires bold new public policies that promote cancer prevention, early detection of cancer, and expand access to quality, affordable health care.
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Palliative Care Patient Information Act
August 16, 2010
Gov. Paterson has signed "The Palliative Care Patient Information Act," strongly backed by the American Cancer Society, which is designed to give patients and their families more control over critical treatment decisions, and over pain and palliative care options. Currently, many cancer patients and their families are not given a chance to understand the full range of options and choices available to them. And many suffer needlessly from pain that is controllable with the right therapy.
This new law will take effect in February 2011, and will require doctors or others in charge of a patient's care to offer information and counseling on treatment options, pain and palliative care choices, to patients who are faced with a terminal diagnosis. The passed the legislature with strong bi-partisan support, and won a unanimous vote in the Assembly.
See the American Cancer Society letter below recommending that the Governor sign the bill.
August 4, 2010
Peter Kiernan
Counsel to the Governor
Executive Chamber
State Capitol
Albany, N.Y. 12224
Re: Pain, Palliative Care and End of Life Options
(S4498/A7617)
Dear Mr. Kiernan:
The American Cancer Society urges the Governor’s approval of S4498/A7617, a bill to provide patients access to information about palliative care, pain treatments and end of life care options.
The legislation requires health care providers to offer their patients who are diagnosed with a terminal illness information and counseling about treatments and options, though it does not require patients and/or families to participate in that counseling.
Inadequate treatment of pain is a significant public health problem in the United States. .
· Pain is one of the most common and most feared symptoms of cancer. The perception that pain is associated with cancer makes it the most feared disease by Americans.
· More than 50 percent of cancer patients experience uncontrolled pain at some point during their illness, depending on the stage of the disease.
· Significant disparities exist in the treatment of pain. Racial minorities, children, women and the elderly, face difficulty accessing effective pain management.
The treatment and management of pain and its accompanying symptoms can be improved with the tools and medications we now have available. A major problem lies in connecting the patients with those tools.
As an advocate for cancer patients, the American Cancer Society believes strongly that patients and families need to be aware of all the treatment options. Too many patients wait far too long to take advantage of hospice or other alternatives. And too many patients are chronically in pain because they and their physicians do not take full advantage of options that are available.
Requiring physicians to offer consultation on end of life choices will not, by itself, solve this problem. Doing it well requires patience, understanding, a willingness to listen, as well as medical knowledge. But as physicians, other health professionals and their health care institutions work to comply with this requirement, they will improve their skills and practice. .
This is a complicated and difficult area of medicine, fraught with difficulty and uncertainty for physicians, patients and families alike. Helping everyone make these difficult decisions about end of life care should be a goal of our health care system.
At the American Cancer Society, we work with patients every day who are confronting treatment choices and options that they struggle to understand and accept. We find that the majority of patients are not afraid of their terminal illness, but they are very concerned about losing control. This legislation aims to promote physician-patient communication, and will help give patients and their families more control.
We urge you to approve this legislation.
Sincerely,
Peter Slocum
Vice President of Advocacy
Eastern Division