Conclusions:
cancer
CANCER
Lower care costs as observed in the intervention group were mainly related to patients’ characteristics. A definite impact of the intervention itself could not be established.
Advance care planning has been found to be associated with reduced healthcare use and costs.Two studies have addressed this in patients with cancer; one found an association with reduced healthcare use and costs, the other found no effect.
Average hospital care costs per patient at 12 months after inclusion were €32,700 in the advance care planning intervention group compared to €40,700 in the control group.Lower healthcare use and costs in the intervention group were significantly associated with patient characteristics such as country of residence and worse performance status, and not with the advance care planning intervention.Healthcare use and cost patterns differed per country.
A definite impact of the intervention itself could not be established.The association of patient characteristics with healthcare use and healthcare costs was more outspoken than their association with the intervention.