Purpose: To explore potential indicators of the quality of end-of-life services for cancer
patients that could be monitored using existing administrative data. Methods: Quality …

Abstract In the United States, two patients with the same medical condition can receive
drastically different treatments. In addition, the same patient can walk into two physicians' …

The traditional objective of advance care planning has been to have patients make
treatment decisions in advance so that clinicians can attempt to provide care consistent with …

Background: The health implications of regional differences in Medicare spending are
unknown. Objective: To determine whether regions with higher Medicare spending provide …

Background: The health implications of regional differences in Medicare spending are
unknown. Objective: To determine whether regions with higher Medicare spending achieve …

BACKGROUND Patients with advanced cancer often experience frequent and prolonged
hospitalizations; however, the factors associated with greater health care utilization have not …

Palliative care aims to prevent and relieve suffering by controlling symptoms and to provide
other support to patients and families in order to maintain and improve their quality of living …

There are widespread differences in health care spending and utilization across regions of
the US as well as in other countries. Are these variations caused by demand-side factors …

Medicare spending varies more than twofold among regions, and the variations persist even
after differences in health are corrected for. Higher levels of Medicare spending are due …

Context It is unclear if advance directives (living wills) are associated with end-of-life
expenditures and treatments. Objective To examine regional variation in the associations …