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.
Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ALS Association, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, USA. lfmcclusky@pahosp.com
Leo
L
McCluskey
Gail
G
Houseman
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