Physicians' political preferences and the delivery of end of life care in the United States: retrospective observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To compare the delivery of end of life care given to US Medicare beneficiaries in hospital by internal medicine physicians with Republican versus Democrat political affiliations.

Design

Retrospective observational study.

Setting

US Medicare.

Participants

Random sample of Medicare beneficiaries, who were admitted to hospital in 2008-12 with a general medical condition, and died in hospital or shortly thereafter.

Main outcome measures

Total inpatient spending, intensive care unit use, and intensive end of life treatments (eg, mechanical ventilation and gastrostomy tube insertion) among patients dying in hospital, and hospice referral among patients discharged but at high predicted risk of 30 day mortality after discharge. Physicians were categor

SUBMITTER: Jena AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5894480 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature