Patterns of health care utilization among Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Background: Care patterns among patients diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma remain poorly defined.

Methods: Cluster analysis was performed on patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma to assess time from diagnosis to death spent in different care settings (home self-care-dominant[HSC], acute in-hospital care-dominant[ACS], hospice care-dominant[HC] or mixed home and hospice care[MHH]).

Results: Among 32,816 patients, most belonged to the HSC group (n = 13,459, 41%), followed by MHH (n = 9,091, 28%), ACS (n = 5,737, 18%) and HC (n = 4,529, 14%). Only about 1 in 3 patients in the HSC (n = 4,028, 30%) or ACS (n = 2,206, 35%) received hospice services for at least one week before death. 16% of patients (n = 5,188) died in the hospital, which was most common among ACS patients (n = 1,640, 29%). Median daily expenditures varied according to health care utilization (HSC, $44.6, IQR 12.3-130.1 vs MHH, $162.3, IQR 60.5-351.9 vs ACS, $489.7, IQR 243.2-856.8 vs HC, $306.1, IQR 132.3-580.0; p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients differed with regards to health care utilization, hospice use and expenditures following diagnosis.

Keywords: Cluster analysis; Health care utilization; Hospice care; Machine learning; Pancreatic adenocarcinoma.