Degree of disability of demented patients as judged by relatives and experts (disability insurance)
Zerfass, R.; Daniel, S.; Sattel, H.; Besthorn, C.; Förstl, H.
Psychiatrische Praxis 24(2): 84-87
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0303-4259 PMID: 9190617 Document Number: 478184
Health insurance companies commission medical expert opinions rating the severity of clinical improvement in order to provide adequate nursing support. We compared these ratings on 28 demented patients with the ratings from carers and with our own examination. The results indicate that the expert opinions underestimated the severity of improvement and adequate support in some of the cases. We discuss whether these discrepancies may be due to the peculiarities of dementia.