The association between palliative care team consultation and hospital costs for patients with advanced cancer: An observational study in 12 Dutch hospitals

Background Early palliative care team consultation has been shown to reduce costs of hospital care. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between palliative care team (PCT) consultation and the content and costs of hospital care in patients with advanced cancer. Material and Methods A prospective, observational study was conducted in 12 Dutch hospitals. Patients with advanced cancer and an estimated life expectancy of less than 1 year were included. We compared hospital care during 3 months of follow‐up for patients with and without PCT involvement. Propensity score matching was used to estimate the effect of PCTs on costs of hospital care. Additionally, gamma regression models were estimated to assess predictors of hospital costs. Results We included 535 patients of whom 126 received PCT consultation. Patients with PCT had a worse life expectancy (life expectancy