Page 6 - Mobility Management, September/October 2022

ATP Series
CRT &
6
PALLIATIVE
CARE
THE ROLE OF SEATING IN
IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE FOR
CONSUMERS & CAREGIVERS
By Laurie Watanabe
IT’S AN INFAMOUS, IF PERHAPS OVERLY SIMPLIFIED, mantra that when it comes to Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) reimbursement, Funding sources don’t pay for comfort. And CRT is, by definition, medically necessary equipment.
But when people who use CRT are also receiving palliative care, can complex seating, positioning, and mobility help to meet those goals as well?
Defining Palliative Care
Palliative care is often talked about in tandem with hospice
care — but the two are very different. The National Institute
on Aging (NIA) defines hospice care as focusing “on the care, comfort, and quality of life of a person with a serious illness who is approaching the end of life. ... In hospice, attempts to cure the person’s illness are stopped.” A hospice patient’s life expectancy is six months or less, the NIA said.
In contrast, palliative care “is meant to enhance a person’s current care by focusing on quality of life for them and their family” and can be given alongside “medical care for their symptoms... along with treatment intended to cure their serious illness.” The NIA adds that palliative care “is a resource for anyone living with a serious illness.”
That includes the population commonly served by CRT seating and wheeled mobility teams. For example, a 2018 report in Hospice & Palliative Medicine International Journal, entitled
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