Hannover Medical School Researchers Provide New Data on Palliative Care (End-of-life care in Germany between 2016 and 2020 – A repeated cross-sectional analysis of statutory health insurance data): Health and Medicine – Palliative Care

2024 MAY 06 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New study results on palliative care have been published. According to news reporting originating from the Hannover Medical School by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “The Hospice and Palliative Care Act of 2015 aimed at developing and regulating the provision of palliative care (PC) services in Germany. As a result of the legal changes, people with incurable diseases should be enabled to experience their final stage of life including death according to their own wishes.”

Financial supporters for this research include Medizinische Hochschule Hannover.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Hannover Medical School: “However, it remains unknown whether the act has impacted end-of-life care (EoLC) in Germany. The present study examined trends in EoLC indicators for patients who died between 2016 and 2020, in the context of Lower Saxony, Germany. Repeated cross-sectional analysis was conducted on data from the statutory health insurance fund AOK Lower Saxony (AOK-LS), referring to the years 2016-2020. EoLC indicators were: (1) the number of patients receiving any form of outpatient PC, (2) the number of patients receiving generalist outpatient PC and (3) specialist outpatient PC in the last year of life, (4) the onset of generalist outpatient PC and (5) the onset of specialist outpatient PC before death, (6) the number of hospitalisations in the 6 months prior to death and (7) the number of days spent in hospital in the 6 months prior to death. Data for each year were analysed descriptively and a comparison between 2016 and 2020 was carried out using t-tests and chi-square tests. Data from 160,927 deceased AOK-LS members were analysed. The number of patients receiving outpatient PC remained almost consistent over time (2016 vs. 2020 p = .077). The number of patients receiving generalist outpatient PC decreased from 28.4% (2016) to 24.5% (2020; p < .001), whereas the number of patients receiving specialist outpatient PC increased from 8.5% (2016) to 11.2% (2020; p < .001). The onset of generalist outpatient PC moved from 106 (2016) to 93 days (2020; p < .001) before death, on average. The onset of specialist outpatient PC showed the reverse pattern (2016: 55 days before death; 2020: 59 days before death; p = .041).”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Despite growing needs for PC at the end of life, the number of patients receiving outpatient PC did not increase between 2016 and 2020. Furthermore, specialist outpatient PC is being increasingly prescribed over generalist outpatient PC. Although the early initiation of outpatient PC has been proven valuable for the majority of people at the end of life, generalist outpatient PC was not initiated earlier in the disease trajectory over the study period, as was found to be true for specialist outpatient PC. Future studies should seek to determine how existing PC needs can be optimally met within the outpatient sector and identify factors that can support the earlier initiation of especially generalist outpatient PC. Trial registration The study ‘Optimal Care at the End of Life’ was registered in the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00015108; 22 January 2019).”

For more information on this research see: End-of-life care in Germany between 2016 and 2020 - A repeated cross-sectional analysis of statutory health insurance data. BMC Palliative Care, 2024,23(1):1-11. (BMC Palliative Care - http://bmcpalliatcare.biomedcentral.com). The publisher for BMC Palliative Care is BMC.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01387-6.

Our news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Katharina van Baal, Institute for General Practice and Palliative Care, Hannover Medical School. Additional authors for this research include Melissa Hemmerling, Jona Theodor Stahmeyer, Stephanie Stiel, Kambiz Afshar.

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