Predicting emergency room visits and hospitalizations among hospice patients with cardiac disease.

Background: One goal of quality palliative care in hospice is to limit emergency room visits and/or hospitalizations (ERVH).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine predisposing factors that contribute to ERVH and devise a model to predict the probability of hospice cardiac disease patients having ERVH after hospice admission.

Methods: The study was a retrospective chart review of hospice cardiac patients comparing those with ERVH (n = 65) and those who died in their homes (n = 80).