Costs of Cancer Care in the Last Five Days of Life in a Low-Resource Setting

Abstract

Background End-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer is costly. The palliative care unit tend to reduce the healthcare costs of these patients. This study aimed to compare palliative care unit costs with non-palliative care unit costs in cancer patients admitted to a university hospital. Methods We calculated the cost and number of services the patients received in the last five days of life in this study. We adjusted all costs based on the 2018 US Dollar exchange rate. We evaluated the cost of hospitalization and care service delivery for 150 patients admitted to a university hospital; the participants were selected prospectively. Results A total of 150 patients were included in this study, 56 of whom (37%) were admitted to the palliative care unit. The average total cost of treatment in the last five days of life for each patient was three times higher in general, wards compared to palliative care unit. The total cost of cancer in the last five days of life was $2,873 in the non- palliative care unit setting and $909.63 in the palliative care unit setting. Conclusions Based on the results, establishing palliative care units in tertiary hospitals and providing palliative consultation to patients with advanced cancer can be profitable when resources are limited.