Study: More intense care at end of life does not always mean higher quality of life
Patient Safety Monitor Alert, April 9, 2008
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A recent study from Dartmouth Medical School shows that patients who live in areas where superior medical care is available, as well as more doctors, spend more on care at the end of life but do not always have greater quality of life at that time. The Boston Globe reports that patients who were admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital suffering from chronic conditions were kept in the hospital for an average of 17 days in the six months prior to their deaths. At the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, similar patients were hospitalized five fewer days in the six months prior to their deaths.
This study highlights a common problem of end-of-life care: Lack of standards in measuring the quality of care given at this time. Experts say part of the problem is many different methods of treatment are pursued in the interest of prolonging a patient's life, although it's not always proven that multiple methods of care will work, or provide better quality of life.
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