The Impact of Hospice Care on Survival and Healthcare Costs for Patients with Lung Cancer: A National Longitudinal Population-Based Study in Taiwan

Exploring the effects of acceptable palliative care models on survival time and healthcare expenditure among patients with cancer: a national longitudinal population-based study

OBJECTIVE

Hospice care ensures better end-of-life quality by relieving terminal symptoms. Prior research has indicated that hospice care could prolong survival and reduce end-of-life medical expenditures among patients with cancer. However, the dearth of studies on the effects of hospice care type and use sequence on survival time and end-of-life medical expenditures substantiates the need for investigation.

DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING

Two million random records were obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database.

STUDY DESIGN

We estimated the effects of the type and sequence of hospice care use on survival time and medical expenditures among advanced cancer patients. This was a cross-sectional study.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS

Patient data were collected from 2 million random records provided by the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. We included people with cancer and excluded patients under 20 years of age; 2860 patients remained after matching.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

The results indicated that the average survival time of patients who received inpatient palliative care (1022 days) was significantly shorter than that of patients who did not receive palliative care (P < 0.001), but the health care expenditure during the entire course of cancer therapy was not the lowest. Interestingly, patients who received inpatient palliative care had the lowest health care expenditure at 1 year or month before the end of life (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The type and sequence of palliative care affected the survival time and health care expenditures of cancer patients. Receiving palliative care did not prolong survival but rather reduced health care expenditures. The sequence of receiving palliative care significantly affected health care expenditures.

Effects of the Time of Hospice and Palliative Care Enrollment before Death on Morphine, Length of Stay, and Healthcare Expense in Patients with Cancer in Taiwan

We aimed to investigate the effects of the time from hospice and palliative care enrollment to death on the quality of care and the effectiveness and trend of healthcare utilization in patients with terminal cancer. Data on the cancer-related mortality rates between 2005 and 2018 reported in the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan were obtained. The effect of hospice and palliative care enrollment at different timepoints before death on healthcare utilization was explored. This retrospective cohort study included 605,126 patients diagnosed with terminal cancer between 2005 and 2018; the percentage of patients receiving hospice and palliative care before death increased annually. Terminal cancer patients who enrolled in hospice and palliative care at different timepoints before death received higher total morphine doses; the difference in the total morphine doses between the two groups decreased as the time to death shortened. The difference in the total morphine doses between the groups gradually decreased from 2005 to 2018. The enrolled patients had longer hospital stays; the length of hospital stays for both groups increased as the time to death lengthened, but the difference was not significant. The enrolled patients incurred lower total medical expenses, but the difference between the two groups increased as the time to death shortened.

The impacts of the scope of benefits expansion on hospice care among adult decedents: a nationwide longitudinal observational study

OBJECTIVES

Compared to aggressive treatment for patients at the end stage of life, hospice care might be more likely to satisfy such patients' need and benefits and improve their dignity and quality of life. Whether the reimbursement policy expansion affect the use of hospice care among various demographics characteristics and health status was unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of reimbursement policy expansion on hospice care use, and to investigate the effects on people with various demographics characteristics and health status.

METHODS

We used the 2001-2017 Taiwan NHI claims data, Death Registry, and Cancer Registry in this study, and we included people who died between 2002 and 2017. The study period was divided into 4 sub-periods. hospice care use and the initiation time of 1st hospice care use were used as dependent variables; demographic characteristics and health status were also collected.

RESULTS

There were 2,445,781 people who died in Taiwan during the study period. The results show that the trend of hospice care use increased over time, going steeply upward after the scope of benefits expansion, but the initiation time of 1st hospice care use did not increase after the scope of benefits expansion. The results also show that the effects of expansion varied among patients by demographic characteristics.

CONCLUSION

The scope of benefits expansion might induce people's needs in hospice care, but the effects varied by demographic characteristics. Understanding the reasons for the variations in all populations would be the next step for Taiwan's health authorities.

Is Hospital Hospice Service Associated with Efficient Healthcare Utilization in Deceased Lung Cancer Patients? Hospital Charges at Their End of Life

In July 2015, South Korea began applying National Health Insurance reimbursement to inpatient hospice service. It is now appropriate and relevant to evaluate how hospice care is associated with healthcare utilization in terminal lung cancer patients. We used nationwide NHI claims data of lung cancer patients from 2008-2018 and identified a sample of patients deceased after July 2016. We transposed the dataset into a retrospective cohort design where a unit of analysis was each lung cancer patients' healthcare utilization. The differences in hospital charges per day were investigated depending on the patient's use of hospice service before death with the Generalized Linear Model (GLM) analysis. Additionally, subgroup analysis and the propensity score matching method were used to validate the model using the claims information of 25,099 patients. About 17.0% of patients used hospice services (N = 4260). With other variables adjusted, hospice service utilization by deceased lung cancer patients was associated with statistically significant lower hospital charges per day at the end of life (1 month, 3 months, and 6 months before death) compared to non-users. A similar trend was found in the propensity score matching model analysis. We found lower end-of-life hospital charges per day among lung cancer patients who received hospice services near death. The ever-expanding aging population requires health policymakers and the National Health Insurance program to expand hospice services for terminal cancer patients in underserved regions and hospitals that do not provide hospice.

End-of-life and hospice care for neurologic illness

Systems for end of life care around the world vary in availability, structure, and funding. When available, most end of life care is in the hospice model with an interdisciplinary team approach to care of people who are expected to die within months and whose primary goal is to maximize quality of life. Symptom management near the end of life is guided by prognosis and individual priorities. People dying with neurologic disease are likely to have impaired communication or mobility that adds to the complexity of prognostication and symptom management. Neurologic specialists have important roles to play in end of life care due to their unique understanding of disease prognosis as well as end of life symptom burden and management. Neurologic specialists need to become strong advocates for the importance of end of life care by being actively involved in the hospice movement and by addressing current disparities in access to care.

Duration of palliative care before death in international routine practice: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Early provision of palliative care, at least 3-4 months before death, can improve patient quality of life and reduce burdensome treatments and financial costs. However, there is wide variation in the duration of palliative care received before death reported across the research literature. This study aims to determine the duration of time from initiation of palliative care to death for adults receiving palliative care across the international literature.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis that was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42018094718). Six databases were searched for articles published between Jan 1, 2013, and Dec 31, 2018: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Global Health, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library, as well undertaking citation list searches. Following PRISMA guidelines, articles were screened using inclusion (any study design reporting duration from initiation to death in adults palliative care services) and exclusion (paediatric/non-English language studies, trials influencing the timing of palliative care) criteria. Quality appraisal was completed using Hawker's criteria and the main outcome was the duration of palliative care (median/mean days from initiation to death).

RESULTS

One hundred sixty-nine studies from 23 countries were included, involving 11,996,479 patients. Prior to death, the median duration from initiation of palliative care to death was 18.9 days (IQR 0.1), weighted by the number of participants. Significant differences between duration were found by disease type (15 days for cancer vs 6 days for non-cancer conditions), service type (19 days for specialist palliative care unit, 20 days for community/home care, and 6 days for general hospital ward) and development index of countries (18.91 days for very high development vs 34 days for all other levels of development). Forty-three per cent of studies were rated as 'good' quality. Limitations include a preponderance of data from high-income countries, with unclear implications for low- and middle-income countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Duration of palliative care is much shorter than the 3-4 months of input by a multidisciplinary team necessary in order for the full benefits of palliative care to be realised. Furthermore, the findings highlight inequity in access across patient, service and country characteristics. We welcome more consistent terminology and methodology in the assessment of duration of palliative care from all countries, alongside increased reporting from less-developed settings, to inform benchmarking, service evaluation and quality improvement.

Differences in medical costs for end-of-life patients receiving traditional care and those receiving hospice care: A retrospective study

Background

Hospice care has a positive effect on medical costs. The correlation between survival time after receiving hospice care and medical costs has not been previously investigated in the literature on Taiwan. This study aimed to compare the differences in medical costs between traditional care and hospice care among end-of-life patients with cancer.

Methods

Data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance program on all patients who had passed away between 2010 and 2013 were used. Those whose year of death was between 2010 and 2013 were defined as end-of-life patients. The patients were divided into two groups: traditional care and hospice care. We then analyzed the differences in end-of-life medical cost between the two groups.

Results

From 2010 to 2013, the proportion of patients receiving hospice care significantly increased from 22.2% to 41.30%. In the hospice group, compared with the traditional group, the proportions of hospital stays over 14 days and deaths in a hospital were significantly higher, but the proportions of outpatient clinic visits; emergency room admissions; intensive care unit admissions; use of ventilator; use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and use of hemodialysis, surgery, and chemotherapy were significantly lower. Total medical costs were significantly lower. A greater number of days of survival for end-of-life patients when receiving hospice care results in higher saved medical costs.

Conclusion

Hospice care can effectively save a large amount of end-of-life medical costs, and more medical costs are saved when patients are referred to hospice care earlier.

Intensity of care, expenditure, place and cause of death people with lung cancer in the year before their death: A French population based study

INTRODUCTION

Health care utilization of people with lung cancer (LC) the last year of life, their causes of death and place of death and the associated expenditure have been poorly described together. Then we conducted an observational study.

METHODS

People with LC covered by the French health Insurance general scheme (77% of the population) who died in 2015 were identified in the national health data system, together with their health care utilization and, in 95% of cases, their causes of death.

RESULTS

A total of 22,899 individuals were included (mean age: 68 years, SD±11.4), 72% of whom died in short-stay hospitals (SSH), 4% in hospital-at-home, 8% in Rehab hospital, 2% in skilled nursing homes and 14% at home. One-half of these people had also a chronic respiratory tract disease and 18% another cancer. Hospital palliative care (HPC) was identified for 65% of people, but for only 9% prior to their end-of-life stay. During the last month of life, 49% of people had two or more SSH stays, 15% were admitted to an intensive care unit, 23% received a chemotherapy session (13% during the last 14 days). The main cause of death was cancer for 92% of individuals (LC for 82%) The mean expenditure during the last year of life was €43,329 per individual.

DISCUSSION

This study indicates high rates of intensive care unit admissions and chemotherapy during the last month of life and a SSH hospital-centered management with intensive use of HPC mainly during the end-of-life stay.

Variation in Hospital Use at the End of Life Among New South Wales Residents Who Died in Hospital or Soon After Discharge

Objective: Hospital use increases in the last 3 months of life. We aimed to examine its association with where people live and its variation across a large health jurisdiction. Methods: We studied a number of emergency department presentations and days spent in hospital, and in-hospital deaths among decedents who were hospitalized within 30 days of death across 153 areas in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, during 2010-2015. Results: Decedents' demographics and health status were associated with hospital use. Primary care and aged care supply had no or minimal influence, as opposed to the varying effects of areal factors-socioeconomic status, remoteness, and distance to hospital last admitted. Overall, there was an approximate 20% difference in hospital use by decedents across areas. In all, 18% to 57% of areas had hospital use that differed from the average. Discussion: The observed disparity can inform targeted local efforts to strengthen the use of community care services and reduce the burden of end-of-life care on hospitals.

Impact of patient-centred and family-centred care meetings on intensive care and resource utilisation in patients with terminal illness: a single-centre retrospective observational study in Taiwan

OBJECTIVE

Shared decision making is essential for patients and their families when facing serious and life-threatening diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of patient-centred and family-centred care meetings (PFCCM) on intensive measures and resource utilisation during end-of-life (EOL) hospitalisation among terminally ill patients.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A retrospective cross-sectional study using electronic medical records was conducted in a tertiary referral medical centre in Taiwan.

PARTICIPANTS

We identified 6843 deceased patients with terminal illness who either received or did not receive PFCCM during EOL hospitalisation between January 2013 and December 2015.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Patients who were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU). Those who underwent invasive or non-invasive mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy, haemodialysis and surgical intervention during the final hospitalisation were determined by the use of intensive care measures; secondary measures were individual total and daily medical expenditures. A generalised estimating equation (GEE) model was used to compare the differences between the two groups. OR and beta coefficients (β) with 95% CI were estimated.

RESULTS

This study identified 459 patients (6.7%) who received PFCCM during EOL hospitalisation. Multivariate analyses showed that patients who received PFCCM were less likely to have ICU admissions (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.57), undergo surgical interventions (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.95) and invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.66) during the final hospitalisation, after adjusting for patient demographics, clinical conditions and year of admission. Additionally, a significant decrease in daily medical expenditures was observed in PFCCM patients (β -0.18, 95% CI -0.25 to -0.12) than in non-PFCCM patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient-physician discussion through PFCCM is associated with less intensive care utilisation and daily medical expenditure during EOL hospitalisation in terminally ill patients.

Effects of a new medical insurance payment system for hospice patients in palliative care programs in Korea

Background

This study investigates the effects of a new medical insurance payment system for hospice patients in palliative care programs and analyzes length of survival (LoS) determinants.

Method

At the Pusan National University Hospital hospice center, between January 2015 and April 2016, 276 patients were hospitalized with several diagnosed types of terminal stage cancer. This study separated patients into two groups, “old” and “new,” by admission date, considering the new system has been applied from July 15, 2015. The study subsequently compared LoS, total cost, and out-of-pocket expenses for the two groups.

Results

Overall, 142 patients applied to the new medical insurance payment system group, while the old medical insurance payment system included 134 patients. The results do not show a significantly negative difference in LoS for the new system group (p = 0.054). Total cost is higher within the new group (p <  0.001); however, the new system registers lower patient out-of-pocket expenses (p <  0.001).

Conclusion

The novelty of this study is proving that the new medical insurance payment system is not inferior to the classic one in terms of LoS. The total cost of the new system increased due to a multidisciplinary approach toward palliative care. However, out-of-pocket expenses for patients overall decreased, easing their financial burden.

End-of-Life Care in Older Patients After Serious or Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Low-Mortality Hospitals Compared With All Other Hospitals

Importance

More than 80% of older patients die or are seriously impaired within 1 year after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Given their poor survival, information about end-of-life care is a relevant marker of high-value trauma care for these patients. In-hospital mortality is commonly used to measure quality of trauma care; however, it is not known what type of end-of-life care hospitals with the best survival outcomes provide to those who die.

Objective

To determine whether end-of-life care for older patients with TBI is correlated with in-hospital mortality.

Design, Setting, and Participants

A retrospective cohort study using 2005-2011 national Medicare claims from acute care hospitals was conducted. Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older who were admitted with serious or severe TBI were included. Transferred patients, those treated at low-volume hospitals, and those who died on the date of admission were excluded. Low-mortality hospitals were those in the lowest quartile for in-hospital mortality using standardized mortality rates adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, comorbidity, and injury severity. Patients at low-mortality hospitals were compared with patients at all other hospitals. The study was conducted from January 2005 to December 2011. Data analysis was conducted between August 2016 and February 2017.

Main Outcomes and Measures

End-of-life care outcomes for patients who died in hospital or 30 days or less after discharge included gastrostomy and tracheostomy placement during the TBI admission and enrollment in hospice.

Results

Of 363 hospitals included in the analysis, 91 (25.1%) were designated as low-mortality. The cohort included 34 691 patients (median age, 79 years; interquartile range, 72-84 years; 40.8% women). Of these patients, 55.8% of those at low-mortality hospitals and 62.5% at all other hospitals died in the hospital or 30 days or less after discharge (P < .01). Among patients who died in the hospital (n = 16 994), end-of-life care was similar at low-mortality hospitals and all other hospitals. For patients who survived the TBI admission and died 30 days or less after discharge (n = 4027), those at low-mortality hospitals underwent fewer gastrostomy (15.9% vs 24.0%; adjusted OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.52-0.72) or tracheostomy (18.2% vs 24.9%; adjusted OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.60-0.83) procedures and received more hospice care (66.3% vs 52.5%; adjusted OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.50-1.96).

Conclusions and Relevance

For older patients with serious or severe TBI, hospitals with the lowest in-hospital mortality perform fewer high-intensity treatments at the end of life and enroll more patients in hospice without increasing cumulative mortality 30 days or less after discharge.

Cancer-related hypercalcemia in oral cancer

Cancer-related hypercalcemia (CRH) is a critical paraneoplastic disorder in advanced cancer patients. In clinical practice, patients with CRH have a poor prognosis. The medical records of 3198 oral cancer patients with CRH diagnosed at Taichung Veterans General Hospital from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2015 were reviewed. The criteria for patient enrolment were a diagnosis of hypercalcemia or the use of antihypercalcemia medication. Patients who met any of the following criteria were excluded: use of total parenteral nutrition, incomplete serum calcium data, and unknown date of death. The total incidence of CRH was 6.95‰ per year. A total of 91 patients were enrolled; their median survival time was 28 days. The patients were divided into two groups by survival time, with a cut-off point of 30 days. Reduced serum albumin, leucocytosis, and clodronate use had a statistically significant effect on survival in the univariate analysis (all P<0.05). Forty-five patients (49.5%) had recurrence of CRH, of whom nine died within 30days. These nine patients had a shorter interval to the first episode of CRH recurrence (median 13 days) than those who survived ≥30days (median 28 days) (P<0.001). It was observed that a short interval to the first episode of CRH recurrence is a poor prognostic factor.

Trend analysis of end-of-life care between hospice and nonhospice groups of cancer patients in Taiwan for 2002-11

The aim of the study is to examine the effect of hospice care on quality of end-of-life (EOL) care for patients with advanced cancer in Taiwan between 2002 and 2011.It is a population-based longitudinal study following National Health Insurance medical care claims of hospice and nonhospice patients with advanced cancer in their last month of life.Utilization of hospice service doubled from 10.5% to 21.5% over the study period. Of 12,682 patients identified as having advanced cancer, 7975 (62.88%) were found to have 1 or more quality indicators (QIs) of poor EOL cancer care. After adjustments, those receiving hospice cares had a significant reduction in incidence of chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life as well as intensive care unit (ICU) admission and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the last month of life. The hospice care group also had significant increases in having more than 1 hospitalization and dying under hospital care, but no change in having more than 1 emergency room (ER) visit. The hospice group curve of estimated incidence rates of each QI was consistently below that of the nonhospice group in chemotherapy-with the difference between the 2 curves increasing over time-ICU admission, and CPR, and above that of the nonhospice group for dying in a hospital and having more than 1 hospitalization over the study period. The 2 groups overlapped on ER visits. Overall, hospice care was associated with less chance to have 1 or more QIs of EOL care for advanced cancer patients (RR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.52-0.60, P < .001).The utilization of hospice services doubled over the 10-year study period. Hospice care was associated with better EOL care in patients with advanced cancer.

Costs of care at the end of life among elderly patients with chronic kidney disease: patterns and predictors in a nationwide cohort study

Background

Despite the urgent need for evidence to guide the end-of-life (EOL) care for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), we have limited knowledge of the costs and intensity of EOL care in this population. The present study examined patterns and predictors for EOL care intensity among elderly patients with CKD.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective nationwide cohort study utilizing the Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database. A total of 65,124 CKD patients aged ≥ 60 years, who died in hospitals or shortly after discharge between 2002 and 2012 were analyzed. The primary outcomes were inpatient expenses and use of surgical interventions in the last 30 days of life. Utilization of intensive care unit (ICU), mechanical ventilation, resuscitation, and dialysis was also examined in a sub-sample of 2072 patients with detailed prescription data. Multivariate log-linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to assess patient-, physician-, and facility-specific predictors and the potential impact of a 2009 payment policy to reimburse hospice care for non-cancer patients.

Results

During the last 30 days of life, average inpatients costs for elderly CKD patients were approximately US$10,260, with 40.9% receiving surgical interventions, 40.2% experiencing ICU admission, 45.3% undergoing mechanical ventilation, 14.7% receiving resuscitation and 42.0% receiving dialysis. Significant variability was observed in the inpatient costs and use of intensive services. Costs were lower among individuals with the following characteristics: advanced age; high income; high Charlson Comorbidity Index scores; treatment by older physicians, nephrologists, and family medicine physicians; and treatment at local hospitals. Similar findings were obtained for the use of surgical interventions and other intensive services. A declining trend was detected in the costs of EOL care, use of surgical interventions and resuscitation between 2009 and 2012, which is consistent with the impact of a 2009 NHI payment policy to reimburse non-cancer hospice care.

Conclusions

Overall EOL costs and rates of intensive service use among older patients with CKD were high, with significant variability across various patient and provider characteristics. Several opportunities exist for providers and policy makers to reduce costs and enhance the value of EOL care for this population.

Medical care utilization and costs on end-of-life cancer patients: The role of hospice care

Although there are 3 hospice care programs for terminal cancer patients in Taiwan, the medical utilization and expenses for these patients by programs have not been well-explored. The aim of this study was to examine the medical utilization and expenses of terminal cancer patients under different programs of hospice care in the last 90, 30, and 14 days of life.This was a retrospective observational study by secondary data analysis. By using the National Health Insurance claim database and Hospice Shared Care Databases. We identified cancer descents from these databases and classified them into nonhospice care and hospice care groups based on different combination of hospice care received. We then analyzed medical utilization including inpatient care, outpatient care, emergency room visits, and medical expenses by patient groups in the last 90, 30, and 14 days of life.Among 118,376 cancer descents, 46.9% ever received hospice care. Patients had ever received hospice care had significantly lower average medical utilization and expenses in their last 90, 30, and 14 days of life (all P < 0.001) compared to nonhospice care group. Each hospice care group had significantly less medical utilization and expenses in the last 90, 30, and 14 days of life (all P < 0.01).Different kinds of hospice care program have different effects on medical care utilization reduction and cost-saving at different stage of the end of life of terminal cancer patients.