Hospice Enrollment, Future Hospitalization, and Future Costs Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Patients Who Received Palliative Care Consultation.

This was a secondary analysis, so it could only use variables already in the dataset; language, poverty level, health literacy, religiosity, and experiences of racial bias were not available. The Latinx group had only 22 patients, so the findings do not robustly describe Latinx outcomes. The study did not include outpatient follow-up information, which may have affected readmission outcomes. It counted only hospitalization and costs within one health system and did not include emergency visits that did not lead to hospitalization. It did not measure hospice enrollment after discharge, so some patients may have enrolled later. It was done at one academic medical center with an experienced palliative care team, so it may not apply to other settings. The models explained only a small share of the variation in outcomes, so unmeasured factors may account for some differences.

The authors reported no conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that Black/African American race caused more readmissions or costs. The paper treats race as a social category, not a biological cause, and Medicaid status and prior admission were also independent predictors; factors not measured may explain differences.