Resource Utilization in Hospitalized Patients With Cancer From Hospice Decision to Discharge and Provider-Type Differences

Aggressive resource utilization for patients with cancer at the end of life has been associated with poor outcomes for patients and their families. To our knowledge, no previous studies have characterized resource utilization as a proxy for quality end-of-life care in hospitalized patients awaiting discharge to hospice by physician and advanced practice providers (APPs). We conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine resource utilization and the quality metrics for end-of-life care in patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center from the date of hospice decision to discharge. Patients under the care of APP teams were less likely to receive laboratory testing (50% vs 59%, P =.046) and received fewer tests than those with house staff teams, though performance on end-of-life quality metrics was similar. Our findings suggest APPs may improve quality of end-of-life care by avoiding unnecessary or aggressive measures compared to house staff.