Regional variation in hospital care at the end-of-life of Dutch patients with lung cancer exists and is not correlated with primary and long-term care

Objective: To examine the regional variation in hospital care utilization in the last 6 months of life of Dutch patients with lung cancer and to test whether higher degrees of hospital utilization coincide with less general practitioner (GP) and long-term care use. Design: Cross-sectional claims data study. Setting: The Netherlands. Participants: Patients deceased in 2013-2015 with lung cancer (N = 25 553). Main Outcome Measures: We calculated regional medical practice variation scores, adjusted for age, gender and socioeconomic status, for radiotherapy, chemotherapy, CT-scans, emergency room... Mehr ...