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Any person who has a severe illness and who is expected to live for 6 months or less can benefit from hospice. Typical diagnoses include illness at an end stage, such as dementia, heart, liver, lung, kidney, Parkinson's disease, cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other illnesses leading to a decline in health.
The benefit that hospice offers is maximized when it is provided for at least 6 months. This time frame permits active management of pain and other symptoms, and interventions by the entire team who can work with the patient and family to identify and meet goals that they establish for their end of life care. Earlier intervention with hospice care can lead to improved pain and symptom management, thus enabling the patient to enjoy their remaining time and to participate in a variety of daily activities
Admission criteria and guidelines:
The basic admission criteria for hospice care are established by regulation and state that a person being admitted to hospice must be:
There are specific guidelines for how a physician determines life expectancy. These guidelines, called Local Coverage Determinations (LCD's), are developed and managed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Fiscal Intermediary (FI). There are 3 FI's throughout the United States. The current LCD's for Massachusetts are available at http://www.ugsmedicare.com/attestation.asp. |
