Health Care Delivery and Financial Considerations in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Clinics: A Survey of Clinic Directors.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Clinical care for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (PLWALS) is directed at slowing disease progression and symptom management. The American Academy of Neurology recommends a multidisciplinary approach to providing ALS health care because observational studies show that multidisciplinary clinics (MDCs) extend survival and improve quality of life. However, providing multidisciplinary care is a challenging financial proposition. To understand how MDCs are financed, we surveyed ALS MDCs across the Northeast ALS Consortium network in the United States.

METHODS

We surveyed clinic directors in the Northeast ALS Consortium, a group of institutions equipped to provide ALS care and perform research and clinical trials in ALS. Respondents (n = 61; response rate = 49.6%) provided information regarding their care model, services, funding sources, and financial solvency between December 2020 and August 2021.

RESULTS

In 74% (n = 45) of clinics, PLWALS were seen by the entire multidisciplinary team, and in 26% (n = 16) of clinics, PLWALS were seen by the physician and triaged according to needs. In 79% (n = 48) of clinics, visit duration was ≥3 hours, and on average, 8.4 services were available, compared with 6.8 in clinics lasting <3 hours. Most of the MDCs offer occupational (97%; n = 59), speech (97%; n = 59), and physical (95%; n = 58) therapies on site. The most common source of financial support was third-party nonprofits/philanthropy (92%; n = 56). Fifty-nine percent (n = 36) of clinics received financial support from their parent organizations (e.g., universities). Only 17% (n = 10) of clinics reported no deficit, and all clinics used multiple income sources.

DISCUSSION

These findings reconfirm the range of services available to PLWALS and highlight the financial challenges facing ALS MDCs. The main limitation is that recruitment was through the NEALS network which primarily includes MDCs, so we were not able to compare with non-MDCs. Since not all centers responded, there may be other differences in the characteristics of the centers that did respond and those that did not leading to some bias. Future work should support the goal of reducing reliance on funding from nonprofits and increase reimbursement from payers, so health care providers can provide high-quality ALS care and cover costs.