Journal
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
Volume 31, Issue 6, Pages 522-532Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2005.11.015
Keywords
palliative care; health resources; health care costs; efficiency
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Patients (n = 395) with terminal-stage cancer receiving attention from palliative care services (PCSs) were recruited over a period of 15 consecutive days from 171 participating PCS units. Resource consumption and costs were evaluated for 16 weeks of follow-up, and the findings were. compared with a study conducted in 1992 so as to assess change over time. The most frequent health care interventions were homecare visits, hospital admissions, and patient-consultant phone calls. PCS provided 67% of all services and consultation interventions in 91% of patients. Compared with the historical data, there was a significant shift from the use of conventional hospital beds toward palliative care beds, a reduced hospital stay (25.5-19.2 days; P = 0.002), an increase in the death-at-home option (31%-42%), a lower use of hospital emergency rooms (52%-30.6%; P = 0.001), and an increase in programmed care. Compared to the previous resource consumption and expenditure study in 1992, the current PCS policy implies a cost saving of 61%, with greater efficiency and no compromise of patient care.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available