Community-Based Specialist Palliative Care Teams Lead to Less Use of Acute Care at the End of Life

Although studies of community-based specialist palliative care teams have shown improved symptom management and patient satisfaction, evidence is mixed on whether such teams help avoid acute hospital care and hospital deaths. In this pooled analysis of a retrospective cohort study, investigators in Canada determined the effects of in-home exposure to specialist palliative care teams on patients' likelihood of being hospitalized or visiting an emergency department during their last 2 weeks of life or of dying in the hospital. About 3100 patients who received care from palliative care teams (exposed group) were matched by propensity score with an equal number of patients who received usual care (unexposed group); about 80% of patients in both…