SSVMS's community program Honoring Wishes is here to help you and your patients. Honoring Wishes provides the resources necessary for the medical community and community at large to facilitate meaningful end-of-life care conversations and planning. Give your patients the tools they need to honor their medical care wishes by creating an Advance Care Plan.

The Honoring Wishes advisory committee is comprised of both medical professionals and the public to ensure that the material is not only medically accurate but accessible, understandable, and compelling to all.

You can bill for conversations with patients about Advance Care Planning (ACP)?

Fast Facts:

• There are two CPT codes dedicated to ACP (99497 for the first 30 minutes and 99498 for each additional 30 minutes.
• No specific diagnosis is required for ACP codes to be billed.
• Non-physician qualified healthcare providers can bill for conversations about ACP.
• Physicians do not need to fill out an advance care directive to bill for ACP conversations.
• SSVMS provides the Five Wishes form at no cost to any Sacramento area physician or patient interested in filling out their advance care directive.
• For more information, please reference the American Society of Clinical Oncology's guide to Advance Care Planning Services.

Numerous free resources are available to help you start the conversation with your patients.

Advance Care Planning Forms

• Honoring Wishes Addendum - provided by the SSVMS Honoring Wishes Committee
• Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) - provided by Coalition for Compassionate Care of California

Patient-Facing Materials

• SSVMS Honoring Wishes Poster
• SSVMS Honoring Wishes Brochure
• SSVMS Honoring Wishes Button
• *To order printed copies of the poster and brochure, or physical buttons at no cost, email Sam Mello at [email protected].

Billing for Advance Care Planning Conversations - Elizabeth Giles, MD, 3 min

How to Bring up Advance Care Planning to Patients - Elizabeth Giles, MD, 31 sec

Why You Need Advance Care Directives and POLST Forms - Elizabeth Giles, MD, 1 min 13 sec

Five Wishes Advance Care Plan

Honoring Wishes pays for Sacramento region community members to have free access to the Five Wishes Advance Care Plan for you and your patients. The Five Wishes document is a complete approach to discussing and documenting your care and comfort choices. It's about connecting families, communicating with healthcare providers, and showing your community what it means to care for one another.

• It is written in everyday language, making it easy to understand and complete.
• It covers personal, spiritual, medical, and legal wishes all in one document.
• It allows your family or caregiver to know exactly what you want, relieving them from the difficult position of guessing your wishes.
• It is legally valid in California.

Located in the Sacramento region? Get your free Advance Directive here: Five Wishes Advance Care Plan

SSVMS Honoring Wishes pays for each digital use of the proprietary Five Wishes Advance Care plan. Please note: you must create a login to access your free copy. If you would like an official printed copy or have issues accessing your online copy, please email Sam Mello at [email protected].

IN HONOR OF AL KAHANE, MD AND MILDRED KAHANE, RN

The Honoring Wishes program is made possible by the planned giving of the late Al Kahane, MD, and Mildred “Millie” Kahane, RN. Millie dedicated her life to advocating for compassionate end-of-life care consistent with a patient’s personal wishes and it is in her memory that SSVMS continues this mission.

For questions and more information, contact Sam Mello at [email protected] or 916-452-2671.