Regional Practice Patterns and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Intensity of End-of-Life Care.

Objective: To examine whether regional practice patterns impact racial/ethnic differences in intensity of end-of-life care for cancer decedents.

Data Sources: The linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database.

Study Design: We classified hospital referral regions (HRRs) based on mean 6-month end-of-life care expenditures, which represented regional practice patterns.