Health Care Utilization Among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries With Coexisting Dementia and Cancer

Objective: The goal of this research is to delineate health care utilization among elderly Medicare beneficiaries with coexisting dementia and cancer compared with those with dementia alone, cancer alone, or neither condition. Method: The study cohort included 96,124 elderly patients aged 65 years and older who resided in the Mid-South region of the United States and were enrolled in Medicare during 2009. Multivariate regression analyses were used to examine health care utilizations while adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Those with coexisting dementia and cancer diagnoses had higher rates of hospitalizations, hospital readmissions within 30 days, intensive care unit use, and emergency department visits compared with those with dementia only, cancer only, and those with neither condition. Patients with coexisting dementia and cancer also had a higher number of primary care visits and specialist visits. Conclusion: There is a greater need for developing tailored care plans for elderly with these two degenerative health conditions to address their unique health care needs and to reduce financial burden on the patients and the health care system.