Can primary care visits reduce hospital utilization among Medicare beneficiaries at the end of life?
GROUND: Medical care at the end of life is often expensive and ineffective. OBJECTIVE: To explore associations between primary care and hospital utilization at the end of life. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of Medicare data. We measured hospital utilization during the final 6 months of life and the number of primary care physician visits in the 12 preceding months. Multivariate cluster analysis adjusted for the effects of demographics, comorbidities, and geography in end-of-life healthcare utilization. SUBJECTS: National random sample of 78,356 Medicare beneficiaries aged 66+ who died in 2001. Non-whites were over-sampled. All subjects with complete Medicare data for 18 months prior to death were retained, except for those in the End Stage Renal Disease program. MEASUREMENTS: Hospital days, costs, in-hospital death, and presence of two types of preventable hospital admissions (Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions) during the final 6 months of life. RESULTS: Sample characteristics: 38%
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