New York palliative, hospice, advance-care-planning, and MOLST guidance

NYSDOH publishes official guidance that separates palliative care, hospice, advance care planning, and MOLST orders for serious-illness and end-of-life planning.

New York · Active · Implementation Jul 4, 2026

What it is

What changed: NYSDOH's Center for Hospice and Palliative Care frames hospice, palliative care, advance care planning, and MOLST as related but distinct planning paths. NYSDOH palliative care materials say palliative care can apply at any stage of serious or chronic illness, the hospice consumer page explains hospice settings and services, the advance care planning page defines written wishes for future medical care, and the MOLST page explains statewide medical orders for life-sustaining treatment.
Why it matters: Caregivers need to distinguish comfort-focused hospice, symptom-focused palliative care, future-care wishes, and portable medical orders before a hospital discharge or crisis decision.
Who it touches: Family caregivers, Care providers and plans, People receiving carepeople with serious illness, terminally ill people, family caregivers, patient surrogates, clinicians
What it does: Plans, studies, registries or guidance
Topics: End-of-life choices and planning

Sources

Last reviewed Jul 4, 2026. This is information, not legal advice; check the source for the current text.