Cancer Patients Use Hospital-Based Care Until Death:A Further Analysis of the Dutch Bone Metastasis Study

Purpose: To describe health care utilization (HCU) at the end of life in cancer patients. These data are relevant to plan palliative care services, and to develop training programs for involved health care professionals. Methods: The Dutch Bone Metastasis Study (DBMS) was a nationwide study proving equal effectiveness of single fraction palliative radiotherapy compared with multiple fractions for painful bone metastases in 1157 patients. The 860 (74%) patients who died during follow-up were included in the current analysis. The main outcome was the frequency of hospital-based (outpatient conta... Mehr ...