Which late-stage Alzheimer's patients should be referred for hospice care?

Abstract

Medicare guidelines are used to determine eligibility for hospice care (strength of recommendation [SOR]: C, based on expert opinion), but they correlate with 6-month mortality no better than an experienced clinician's judgment (SOR: B, based on 1 cohort study). Recent studies, however, have identified additional criteria that may better predict survival in select populations.