• Serge Dumont, Philip Jacobs, Konrad Fassbender, Donna Anderson, Véronique Turcotte, and François Harel.
• School of Social Work, Laval University; Laval University Cancer Research Center, Quebec, Quebec, Canada G1V 0A6. Serge.Dumont@svs.ulaval.ca
• Palliat Med. 2009 Dec 1;23(8):708-17.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate prospectively the resource utilization and related costs during the palliative phase of care in five regions across Canada.SubjectsA cohort of 248 patients registered in a palliative care program and their main informal caregivers were consecutively recruited.Research DesignA prospective research design with repeated measures was adopted. Interviews were conducted at two-week intervals until the patient s passing or up to a maximum of 6 months.MeasuresThe survey questions prompted participants to provide information on the types and number of goods and services they used, and who paid for these goods and services.ResultsThe largest cost component for study participants was inpatient hospital care stays, followed by home care and informal caregiving time. In regard to cost sharing, the public health care system (PHCS), the family, and not-for-profit organizations (NFPO) sustained respectively 71.3%, 26.6%, and 1.6% of the mean total cost per patient.ConclusionSuch results provide a comprehensive picture of costs related to palliative care in Canada, by specifying the cost sharing between the PHCS, the family, and NFPO.

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