Dartmouth researchers release report on end-of-life care. The New York Times (4/12, A22, Hartocollis, Subscription Publication) reports, "At the end of life, people with chronic diseases like cancer get more aggressive medical care in the New York area than anyplace else in the country, continuing a trend going back decades, according to a report released on Monday by researchers at Dartmouth College." The researchers, who "looked at federal data from 2007, the most recent year available, found that 46 percent of chronically ill patients in the Manhattan hospital region, which also covers most of Brooklyn and Staten Island, were being treated at hospitals when they died, as opposed to dying at home or in hospices or nursing homes. That rate was the highest in the country." Modern Healthcare (4/12, Barr, Subscription Publication) reports that "in the study, the average patient spent 10.9 days in the hospital during the last six months of life in 2007, compared with 11.3 in 2003." The researchers also found that "in 2003, 32.2% of patients in the last six months of their life died in a hospital; by 2007, the rate had dropped to 28.1%." Meanwhile, "the average number of hospice days per patient in the last six months of life increased to 18.3 days from 12.4 days." The St. Paul Pioneer-Press (4/12, Snowbeck) reports that the researchers found that "Medicare beneficiaries in Minnesota are less likely than those in other states to die in a hospital, because doctors and hospitals elsewhere pile on costly -- and perhaps unwanted -- care at the end of life," which is "part of the reason average Medicare spending per beneficiary in Minnesota is significantly below the national average." The Salt Lake Tribune (4/12, Henetz) reports that "Utah residents at the end of their lives spent the fewest number of days in hospitals in the nation -- 6.4 days, compared to a national average of 11.2 days." Just "12 percent of those who died spent time in an ICU, the nation's lowest rate." The researchers also found that "Utahns who died received more days of hospital-related hospice services than any other state except Oklahoma, and close to twice the national average."
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
End of Life Study
Dartmouth researchers release report on end-of-life care. The New York Times (4/12, A22, Hartocollis, Subscription Publication) reports, "At the end of life, people with chronic diseases like cancer get more aggressive medical care in the New York area than anyplace else in the country, continuing a trend going back decades, according to a report released on Monday by researchers at Dartmouth College." The researchers, who "looked at federal data from 2007, the most recent year available, found that 46 percent of chronically ill patients in the Manhattan hospital region, which also covers most of Brooklyn and Staten Island, were being treated at hospitals when they died, as opposed to dying at home or in hospices or nursing homes. That rate was the highest in the country." Modern Healthcare (4/12, Barr, Subscription Publication) reports that "in the study, the average patient spent 10.9 days in the hospital during the last six months of life in 2007, compared with 11.3 in 2003." The researchers also found that "in 2003, 32.2% of patients in the last six months of their life died in a hospital; by 2007, the rate had dropped to 28.1%." Meanwhile, "the average number of hospice days per patient in the last six months of life increased to 18.3 days from 12.4 days." The St. Paul Pioneer-Press (4/12, Snowbeck) reports that the researchers found that "Medicare beneficiaries in Minnesota are less likely than those in other states to die in a hospital, because doctors and hospitals elsewhere pile on costly -- and perhaps unwanted -- care at the end of life," which is "part of the reason average Medicare spending per beneficiary in Minnesota is significantly below the national average." The Salt Lake Tribune (4/12, Henetz) reports that "Utah residents at the end of their lives spent the fewest number of days in hospitals in the nation -- 6.4 days, compared to a national average of 11.2 days." Just "12 percent of those who died spent time in an ICU, the nation's lowest rate." The researchers also found that "Utahns who died received more days of hospital-related hospice services than any other state except Oklahoma, and close to twice the national average."
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