Intensity of outpatient physician care in the last year of life: a population-based retrospective descriptive study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

For many patients, health care needs increase toward the end of life, but little is known about the extent of outpatient physician care during that time. The objective of this study was to describe the volume and mix of outpatient physician care over the last 12 months of life among patients dying with different end-of-life trajectories.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective descriptive study involving adults (aged ≥ 18 yr) who died in Ontario between 2013 and 2017, using linked provincial health administrative databases. Decedents were grouped into 5 mutually exclusive end-of-life trajectories (terminal illness, organ failure, frailty, sudden death and other). Over the last 12 months and 3 months of life, we examined the number of physician encounters, the number

SUBMITTER: Howard M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8191591 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature