Is Inpatient Hospice Care Clinically Effective? Using Phase of Illness to Evaluate Care Outcomes for Patients Admitted to a Specialist Palliative Care Unit in Ireland

In health care, clinical effectiveness involves evaluating the degree to which clinical interventions achieve beneficial patient and caregiver outcomes. To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of care in a specialist palliative care unit (SPCU) in Ireland, including an analysis of the temporal relationship among admission, Phase of Illness and patient and family distress. A consecutive case series with prospectively collected admission data ( = 400). Using a casemix tool (Phase of Illness), pain, other symptoms, psychological and family distress, and performance status were documented on admission and then daily by medical staff. Three hundred forty-two (85%) patients had complete data recorded on day 1. After admission, there were linear correlations between days since admission and progressive improvements in pain (Cramer's = 0.131,