The law that requires healthcare organizations to ask individuals if they have an advance directive is the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) of 1990.

What the PSDA Requires

  • Healthcare organizations that participate in Medicare or Medicaid (such as hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and hospices) must ask adult patients whether they have an advance directive and document this in the medical record.
  • They must provide written information about patients’ rights under state law to make medical decisions and to create advance directives.
  • They must not discriminate or change the care provided based on whether a patient has an advance directive.

Why This Question Appears on Tests

Many nursing, medical, and health-administration exams use this exact concept to test knowledge of patient rights. The correct answer is consistently the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) , not state living will laws, HIPAA, or general Medicare rules, because the PSDA specifically added the requirement to ask and document advance directive status for Medicare/Medicaid providers.

Quick Memory Tip

  • Think: “Self-Determination” = patient’s right to decide in advance.
  • If a question asks “which law requires facilities to ask about and document advance directives?” the answer is Patient Self-Determination Act (1990).

TL;DR: The statute that requires healthcare organizations to ask individuals if they have an advance directive is the Patient Self- Determination Act (PSDA).