Trends in Specialty Palliative Care Service Utilization and In-Hospital Outcomes for Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Hospitalized people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may benefit from specialty palliative care services (sPCS). <b><i>Objective:</i></b> To describe access to in-hospital sPCS for people with ALS (pALS). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We compared years 2010-2011 to 2018-2019, and conducted trend analyses of sPCS from 2010 to 2019 stratified by race. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of 103,193 pALS admitted during the study period, 13,885 (13.4%) received sPCS. Rates of sPCS increased over time (2010-2011: 8.9% vs. 2018-2019: 16.6%; <i>p</i> < 0.01). From 2010 to 2019, there was an increase in sPCS (<i>p-trend</i><0.01) for all studied racial groups. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Access to palliative care has increased over time for pALS admitted to hospitals in the United States.