 |
|
Prevalence and Structure of Palliative Care Services in California Hospitals
Steven Z. Pantilat, MD;
J. Andrew Billings, MD
Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:1084-1088.
Background Most Americans die in hospitals where shortcomings in end-of-life care are endemic. Hospital-based palliative care services can improve the care of these patients, yet there are limited data regarding the availability of such services. We sought to determine the prevalence of palliative care services in California hospitals.
Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 25% of all California hospitals. We recorded the percentage of hospitals reporting current or planned palliative care consultation services or inpatient palliative care units.
Results We collected data from 107 (96%) of 112 hospitals. Only 17% of hospitals have a palliative care consult service, and 6% have an inpatient palliative care unit. Nearly all services are multidisciplinary. Twenty percent of hospitals have a contract to provide inpatient hospice beds, 19% have an outpatient-based hospice service affiliated with the hospital, and 74% offer bereavement services. Half of all palliative care services are funded exclusively by the hospital. Thirty-eight hospitals (36%) reported an interest in developing palliative care services.
Conclusions Few California hospitals currently have palliative care services, though more express interest in developing them. Bereavement and hospice services are more common and offer opportunities for increasing the number of palliative care services in hospitals. Further studies are needed to characterize palliative care services more fully and to assess the quality of care provided by these services.
From the Program in Medical Ethics, Division of General Internal Medicine and Hospitalist Section, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco (Dr Pantilat), and the Palliative Care Service, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care, Boston (Dr Billings). The authors have no relevant financial interest in this article.
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Population-based study of dying in hospital in six European countries
Cohen et al.
Palliat Med 2008;22:702-710.
ABSTRACT
Quality Measures for Symptoms and Advance Care Planning in Cancer: A Systematic Review
Lorenz et al.
JCO 2006;24:4933-4938.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Evaluating the California Hospital Initiative in Palliative Services
Pantilat et al.
Arch Intern Med 2006;166:227-230.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
The Costs Of Nonbeneficial Treatment In The Intensive Care Setting
Gilmer et al.
Health Aff (Millwood) 2005;24:961-971.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Acute and chronic paediatric intensive care patients: current trends and perspectives on resource utilization
Briassoulis et al.
QJM 2004;97:507-518.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|
