My uncle died a few weeks ago and we finally got the death certificate back. It lists vascular dementia and Cerebral Atherosclerosis as the cause of death. He did not have vascular dementia, he had Alzheimer's but hospice did not know that. He was only in their care for two weeks and they did not have all of his health records.
There is nothing in his records about Cerebral Atherosclerosis. He was never tested for it (no CT scans, no MRI or anything else).
He went on hospice care solely because his sodium was low and the doctors could not get it corrected. It caused him to become very weak and "out of his mind." The hospital doctor and his primary care physician both recommended hospice, but they did not give a reason as to why. There was a diagnosis in the hospital of metabolic encephalopathy.
We're pretty sure hospice made up the diagnosis of Cerebral Atherosclerosis and vascular dementia. Can they do that? My uncle's son (my cousin) doesn't necessarily care, but he's wondering whether we should tell the rest of the family the truth - that we don't really know the cause of death.
The reason I asked if they did an autopsy is I wondered if they may have discovered Alz when they performed an autopsy. We are always reading that the only true way one can know if a person had Alz is an autopsy.
The DC in my family I am familiar with were all correct.
I do a bit of genealogy. It’s always a special “find” when I come across a DC for a relative because of all the information that can be on it.
It isn’t always correct as to parents names etc. But it is an important document and I would at least make a phone call to the hospice and discuss if I felt the information was incorrect.
Let us know if you find out.
If the only medical issue going on is an electrolyte imbalance, I would think they would need to come up with a reason for admission for Medicare. You can't just sign anyone up for hospice care. Maybe we should just call them and ask for the paperwork.
Alzheimer's was not the cause of death and he barely had any symptoms. He may not have even had that, but that's a long story.
As for what to tell the family - Alzheimer's is a terminal disease it just takes an interminable amount of time to reach it's final conclusion, I would say there isn't anything specific, his body just wore out.
Do you have the money and time to challenge what was stated on the DC, research the attendants and their qualifications, ascertain the source of their decision, etc.?
If so, and all can come to agreement, worth proceeding. If not, rest easy with what is recorded.
We had the same issue with DH's father. He and my MIL had just moved into a care facility, and his death was very likely caused by the facility's new doctor who didn't continue a particular drug he was taking. My DH decided that there was nothing to be gained by making a fuss about it. I thought he should, but it was his call and his siblings were difficult anyway. The old man was ready to go, and he had achieved his ambition to arrange care after his death for MIL.
Work out what's best for everyone. Best wishes, Margaret