Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
-
Palliative care has been recommended as an approach to improve the quality of care for patients with advanced illness, while achieving hospital cost savings. However, studies are lacking that identify hospitalized patients who are more likely to have higher cost per day or length of stay (LOS) who may benefit from palliative care consultation. ⋯ Our data suggest that younger patients and those cared for by surgical specialty services may receive the most benefit from palliative care consultation, a finding that needs to be corroborated in other centers.