Physician and Patient and Caregiver Health Attitudes and Their Effect on Medicare Resource Allocation for Patients With Advanced Cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Physicians must participate in end-of-life discussions, but they understand poorly their patients' end-of-life values and preferences. A better understanding of these preferences and the effect of baseline attitudes will improve end-of-life discussions.

Objective

To determine how baseline attitudes toward quality vs quantity of life affect end-of-life resource allocation.

Design, setting, and participants

Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS) physicians were recruited to use a validated online tool to create a Medicare health plan for advanced cancer patients. During the exercise, participants allocated a limited pool of resources among 15 benefit categories. These data were compared with preliminary data from patients with cancer and their caregivers

SUBMITTER: Rocke DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4514572 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature