Costs associated with resource utilization during the palliative phase of care: a Canadian perspective.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to evaluate prospectively the resource utilization and related costs during the palliative phase of care in five regions across Canada.


METHODS
A cohort of 248 patients registered in a palliative care program and their main informal caregivers were consecutively recruited.


METHODS
A prospective research design with repeated measures was adopted. Interviews were conducted at two-week intervals until the patient s passing or up to a maximum of 6 months.


METHODS
The survey questions prompted participants to provide information on the types and number of goods and services they used, and who paid for these goods and services.


RESULTS
The largest cost component for study participants was inpatient hospital care stays, followed by home care and informal caregiving time. In regard to cost sharing, the public health care system (PHCS), the family, and not-for-profit organizations (NFPO) sustained respectively 71.3%, 26.6%, and 1.6% of the mean total cost per patient.


CONCLUSIONS
Such results provide a comprehensive picture of costs related to palliative care in Canada, by specifying the cost sharing between the PHCS, the family, and NFPO.
Dumont
Serge
S
School of Social Work, Laval University; Laval University Cancer Research Center, Quebec, Quebec, Canada G1V 0A6. Serge.Dumont@svs.ulaval.ca
Jacobs
Philip
P
Fassbender
Konrad
K
Anderson
Donna
D
Turcotte
Véronique
V
Harel
François
F
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002170:Canada; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000191:economics