Identification of potentially avoidable hospitalizations in patients with GI cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To identify and characterize potentially avoidable hospitalizations in patients with GI malignancies.

Patients and methods

We compiled a retrospective series of sequential hospital admissions in patients with GI cancer. Patients were admitted to an inpatient medical oncology or palliative care service between December 2011 and July 2012. Practicing oncology clinicians used a consensus-driven medical record review process to categorize each hospitalization as "potentially avoidable" or "not avoidable." Patient demographic and clinical data were abstracted, and quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed to identify patient characteristics and outcomes associated with potentially avoidable hospitalizations.

Results

We evaluated 201 hospitalizations in 1

SUBMITTER: Brooks GA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3918534 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature