title: Impact of a palliative care consult service.
abstract: Established hospital palliative care consult services (PCCS) have been associated with reduced costs and length of stay, decreased symptom burden, and increased satisfaction with care. Using a retrospective case-control design, we analyzed administrative data of patients seen by PCCS while hospitalized at the Rochester, Minnesota Mayo Clinic hospitals from 2003 to 2008. The PCCS patients were matched to 3:1. A total of 1477 patients seen by the PCCS were matched with 4431 patients not seen. Costs for patients seen and discharged alive were US $35,449 (95% confidence interval [CI] US $34,157-US $36,686) compared to US $37,447 (95% CI US $36,734-US $38,126), without PCCS consultation. Costs for PCCS patients that died during hospitalization were US $54,940 (95% CI US $51,483-US $58,576) and non-PCCS patients were US $79,660 (95% CI US $76,614-US $83,398).
authors.affiliation: 1Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Whitford
authors.forename: Nilay D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moriarty
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Branda
authors.forename: Bjoerg
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thorsteinsdottir
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017046:Cost Savings; D005260:Female; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: administrative data; case–control; costs; outcomes; palliative care; propensity score