Ethics Consult: Using hospice as "treatment" for behavioral problems of dementia

Ethics Consult: Using hospice as "treatment" for behavioral problems of dementia
American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, by Luisa Skoble MD, Jonathan Crane MPhil, PhD; 4/24
This session will present 2 cases of individuals with advanced dementia who did not meet the traditional Medicare criteria for hospice, as both were ambulatory and did not have significant co-morbid medical issues. Both had significant aggressive behaviors that responded poorly to extensive trials of various medications during extended stays on a geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit. Both were referred to a local inpatient hospice where the staff use “suffering" as a hospice criteria and were “treated” with the usual hospice medications and expired in less than 3 weeks.