US · guidance
CMS SOM App. M, Tag L598
§418.64(d)(3) Spiritual counseling
The hospice must:
(i) Provide an assessment of the patients’ and family’s spiritual needs.
(ii) Provide spiritual counseling to meet these needs in accordance with the
patient’s and family’s acceptance of this service, and in a manner
consistent with patient and family beliefs and desires.
(iii) Make all reasonable efforts to facilitate visits by local clergy, pastoral
counselors, or other individuals who can support the patient’s spiritual
needs to the best of its ability.
(iv) Advise the patient and family of this service.
Interpretive Guidelines §418.64(d)(3)
There should be evidence in the clinical record that the hospice has offered and/or
provided spiritual counseling in accordance with the patient/family’s desires. If a patient
and family desires spiritual counseling, then a hospice should facilitate visits by local
clergy, pastoral counselors, or others to the best of its ability.
History
Rev. 210; Issued:02-03-23; Effective:02-03-23; Implementation:02-03-23
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-07-22
- Edition
- som-2026-07-22
- Content hash
3f1e5e5a4a99cb861cd2decc6a349c555a231d83c57b4a3384fa83e99eb1011f
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.