Specialized palliative outpatient clinic care involvement associated with decreased end-of-life hospital costs in cancer patients, a single center study.

Background: Studies show that hospital deaths bring significant health care costs, and the involvement of specialized palliative care can help to reduce these costs. The aim of this retrospective registry-based study was to evaluate end-of-life hospital costs in patients dying in a university hospital oncology ward, with or without specialized palliative outpatient clinic contact at any timepoint.

Methods: The study population consists of all patients who died in the Kuopio University Hospital oncology ward in the years 2012-2018 (n = 457).

Trends in end-of-life decisions among patients dying in a university hospital oncology ward after implantation of a palliative outpatient clinic.

Background: The need for high quality palliative care at end-of-life has been increasingly recognized while regional differences exist in its quality and availability. Basic palliative care is given by oncologists at any stage of the disease, but this does not cover the high need for specialized palliative care. The aim of this study was to assess the trends in end-of-life decisions among patients dying in a university hospital oncology ward before and after the implementation of a palliative outpatient clinic.