A New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Medicine study suggests oncology hospitalists have better hospice utilization and reduce hospital stays for cancer patients compared to oncologists.
The study, published in the American Cancer Society Journals, used electronic health records from New Haven-based Smilow Cancer Hospital to identify discharges from July 26, 2021, to Jan. 31, 2022. Researchers compared referrals for hospice settings from hospitalist-led services and oncologist-led services.
Hospitalist-led services referred 11.8% of patients to inpatient hospice settings, nearly double the referral rate of oncologist-led services (5.8%). The adjusted average length of stay before inpatient hospice care was 6.83 days for hospitalist-led care and 16.29 days for oncologist-led care.
"Late referrals to hospice, especially those at the end of life, are associated with decreased quality of life and higher total healthcare costs," the study authors wrote. "Oncology hospitalists improve hospice utilization and time to inpatient hospice referral on an inpatient medical oncology service."