The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jun 2020
Association Between the Timing of Goals-of-Care Discussion and Hospitalization Outcomes in Patients With Metastatic Cancer.
Patients with cancer often require acute hospitalizations, many of which are unplanned. These hospitalizations have been shown to increase in frequency near the end of life. The American College of Physicians recommends that goals-of-care (GOC) discussions be initiated early for metastatic cancers. We hypothesized that discussing GOC during hospitalization could help reduce readmissions. Our aim was to examine the association between the timing of GOC discussion, length of hospital stay, and the time to readmission. ⋯ Among hospitalized patients with stage IV cancer, performing an early GOC discussion has an important association with lower hospital readmission rates and increased rates of goal-congruent patient care.