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The Current Status of Utilization of Palliative Care Units in Korea: 6 Month Results of 2009 Korean Terminal Cancer Patient Information System  

Shin, Dong-Wook (Hospice & Palliative Care Branch, National Cancer Center)
Choi, Jin-Young (Hospice & Palliative Care Branch, National Cancer Center)
Nam, Byung-Ho (Office of Clinical Research Coordination, National Cancer Center)
Seo, Won-Seok (Office of Clinical Research Coordination, National Cancer Center)
Kim, Hyo-Young (Hospice & Palliative Care Branch, National Cancer Center)
Hwang, Eun-Joo (Hospice & Palliative Care Branch, National Cancer Center)
Kang, Jina (Hospice & Palliative Care Branch, National Cancer Center)
Kim, So-Hee (Office of Clinical Research Coordination, National Cancer Center)
Kim, Yang-Hyuck (Office of Clinical Research Coordination, National Cancer Center)
Park, Eun-Cheol (National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center)
Publication Information
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care / v.13, no.3, 2010 , pp. 181-189 More about this Journal
Abstract
Purpose: Recently, health policy making is increasingly based on evidence. Therefore, Korean Terminal Cancer Patient Information System (KTCPIS) was developed to meet such need. We aimed to report its developmental process and statistics from 6 months data. Methods: Items for KTCPIS were developed through the consultation with practitioners. E-Velos web-based clinical trial management system was used as a technical platform. Data were collected for patients who were registered to 34 inpatient palliative care services, designated by Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family Affairs, from $1^{st}$ of January to $30^{th}$ of June in 2009. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis. Results: From the nationally representative set of 2,940 patients, we obtained the following results. Mean age was $64.8{\pm}12.9$ years, and 56.6% were male. Lung cancer (18.0%) was most common diagnosis. Only 50.3% of patients received the confirmation of terminal diagnosis by two or more physicians, and 69.7% had an insight of terminal diagnosis at the time of admission. About half of patients were admitted to the units on their own without any formal referral. Average and worst pain scores were significantly reduced after 1 week when compared to those at the time of admission. 73.4% faced death in the units, and home-discharge comprised only 13.3%. Mean length of stay per admission was $20.2{\pm}21.2$ days, with median value of 13. Conclusion: Nationally representative data on the characteristics of patients and their caregiver, and current practice of service delivery in palliative care units were obtained through the operation of KTCPIS.
Keywords
Information systems; Evidence-based practice; Health policy; Korea; Quality of health care;
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