Physician Palliative Education Associated With High Use of Hospice Care Service.
Mei-Hsing Chuang, Fang-Niarn Lee, Yih-Tsong Shiau and 4 others
PMID 33960206WHAT IT FOUND
Patients whose doctors completed hospice training were far more likely to receive end-of-life care services.
However, patients admitted for acute conditions like pneumonia or urinary tract infections were significantly less likely to enter hospice, often because clinicians pursued curative treatment first.
Key findings
01Patients whose attending physicians had completed palliative education had a much higher likelihood of receiving hospice care compared to those whose physicians had not.
02Acute medical issues such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, and hypoglycemia were associated with a lower chance of receiving hospice care.
03Male patients were less likely to receive hospice care than female patients.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted in a single hospital system in Taipei, so the results may not apply to other healthcare systems or cultures. The analysis did not account for patient or family factors such as religion, education level, or cognition, which strongly influence end-of-life decisions. As an observational study, it shows an association between physician training and hospice use but cannot prove that the training directly caused the increase in referrals.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that physician training alone guarantees hospice referral. The study shows that acute medical events like pneumonia or urinary tract infections significantly reduce the likelihood of hospice use, regardless of training, because clinicians often prioritize curative treatment in these scenarios.