Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

The Impact on Resource Utilization of Supportive Care Consults on Patients at the University of North Carolina Hospital, 2010-2012.

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients have a high rate of emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient hospitalizations (IHs) that may be reduced by use of outpatient palliative care services.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the outpatient adult palliative care service at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospital, begun in 2008, reduced the frequency of ED visits and IH during a two-year period.

DESIGN: The charts of patients with lung cancer or head and neck cancer seen by the supportive care service from 2010 to 2011, and of a contemporaneous set of potential consults that were not seen, were retrospectively reviewed to determine the impact of this care delivery model.

SETTING/SUBJECTS: The number of individuals with lung cancer and head cancer seen during this two-year period was 24 and 23, respectively, permitting a statistical analysis from which meaningful conclusions could be drawn.

MEASUREMENTS: The frequency of ED visits and IHs for each patient was reviewed. Descriptive statistics were used. Fisher's exact test was used for data categorized into two by two contingency tables. The nonparametric Jonckheere-Terpstra method was used to test for ordered differences across categories.

RESULTS: Consultation with supportive care did not decrease overall use of ED visits. Patients with head and neck cancer showed an increase in ED visits (p = 0.08) but a reduction in inpatient admissions (p = 0.0004). In patients with lung cancer, the opposite effect was seen-an increase in inpatient visits (p = 0.02) but a decrease in ED visits. The frequency of ED visits was correlated with distance to the ED (p = 0.02), a finding that has not been noted before.

CONCLUSIONS: Further work is needed to define the best model for outpatient palliative care.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app