For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Bereavement services” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1746.

(b) “Hospice care” means a specialized form of interdisciplinary health care that is designed to provide palliative care, alleviate the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual discomforts of an individual who is experiencing the last phases of life due to the existence of a terminal disease, and provide supportive care to the primary caregiver and the family of the hospice patient, and that meets all of the following criteria:

(1) Considers the patient and the patient’s family, in addition to the patient, as the unit of care.

(2) Utilizes an interdisciplinary team to assess the physical, medical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of the patient and the patient’s family.

(3) Requires the interdisciplinary team to develop an overall plan of care and to provide coordinated care that emphasizes supportive services, including, but not limited to, home care, pain control, and limited inpatient services. Limited inpatient services are intended to ensure both continuity of care and appropriateness of services for those patients who cannot be managed at home because of acute complications or the temporary absence of a capable primary caregiver.

(4) Provides for the palliative medical treatment of pain and other symptoms associated with a terminal disease, but does not provide for efforts to cure the disease.

(5) Provides for bereavement services following death to assist the family in coping with social and emotional needs associated with the death of the patient.

(6) Actively utilizes volunteers in the delivery of hospice services.

(7) To the extent appropriate, based on the medical needs of the patient, provides services in the patient’s home or primary place of residence.

(c) “Hospice facility” means a health facility as defined in subdivision (n) of Section 1250.

(d) “Inpatient hospice care” means hospice care that is provided to patients in a hospice facility, including routine, continuous and inpatient care directly as specified in Section 418.110 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and may include short-term inpatient respite care as specified in Section 418.108 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(e) “Interdisciplinary team” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 1746.

(f) “Medical direction” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 1746.

(g) “Palliative care” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 1746.

(h) “Plan of care” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (l) of Section 1746.

(i) “Skilled nursing services” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (n) of Section 1746.

(j) “Social services/counseling services” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (o) of Section 1746.

(k) “Terminal disease” or “terminal illness” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (p) of Section 1746.

(l) “Volunteer services” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (q) of Section 1746.

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 289, Sec. 1. (SB 816) Effective January 1, 2014.)