Medicare hospice referral criteria for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a need for improvement.
We conducted a retrospective review of 97 consecutive patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who were accepted into hospice care from a tertiary ALS center. Five patients met Medicare criteria at time of hospice enrollment. The mean number of hospice days was 85 (range, 1-534). All but 2 patients met hospice criteria proposed by the Columbia University ALS group. The present Medicare hospice criteria should be changed to reflect the reality of patients dying of ALS.
McCluskey
Leo
L
Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ALS Association, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, USA. lfmcclusky@pahosp.com
Houseman
Gail
G
D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy*; D004608:Eligibility Determination; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D006278:Medicare; D010414:Pennsylvania; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States