CANCER-PATIENTS - THE SURVIVAL AND EXPENSE OF TRADITIONAL CARE AND HOSPICE CARE
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- Published online on: September 1, 1994 https://doi.org/10.3892/or.1.5.993
- Pages: 993-996
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Abstract
Hospice care is a reasonable treatment strategy for those cancer patients whose disease process is no longer responsive to standard treatment regimens or who are unable to tolerate the adverse side effects of continued aggressive therapy. A 1:1 matched case-control study design that designated those patients selecting the hospice model of care as controls and those receiving acute care as cases was utilized. Data was abstracted from medical records and financial billing statements. The difference between total hospital charges plus hospice charges during the last 6 months of life for the hospice patients ($35,625) compared to the non-hospice patients ($50,152) was statistically significant. The hospice model of care may be a less costly option for those cancer patients where palliation is the objective.