Predictors and Assessment of Hospice Use for End-Stage Renal Disease Patients in Taiwan

Objectives: Hospice and early palliative care are generally considered as an alternative and supportive care to offer symptoms relief and optimize the quality of life among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, but hospice care remains underutilized. This study aimed to examine patient and health system characteristics and develop a patient assessment scale to evaluate ESRD patients for hospice care after the implementation of non-cancer hospice care reimbursement policy in 2009 in Taiwan. Method: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using nationwide population-based datasets. Adult long-term dialysis patients between 2009 and 2012 were included. Multivariable logistic regression and the Firth penalized likelihood estimation were used to estimate the likelihood of receiving hospice care. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis and C-statistic were calculated to determine the optimal models for a patient assessment of hospice use. Results: Patients who were older, comorbid with anemia (odds ratio [OR] 3.53, 95% CI 1.43–8.70) or sepsis (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.08–2.44), with longer dialysis durations, more hospitalizations (OR 4.68, 95% CI 2.56–8.55), or primary provider care with hospice (OR 5.15, 95% CI 2.80–9.45) were more likely to receive hospice care. The total score of the patient assessment scale of hospice care was 0–28 with a cut-off value of 19 based on the results of the receiver operating characteristic curve. Conclusion: Given the “Patient Right to Autonomy Act” implemented in Taiwan in 2019 to promote the concept of a “good quality of death”, this patient assessment scale may help health professionals target ESRD patients for hospice care and engage in shared decision making and the advance care planning process.