The use of oncology hospitalists can reduce readmission rates and improve discharge to hospice, according to a study published in JCO Oncology Practice.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of inpatient oncology hospitalists compared with a traditional care model with an outpatient attending oncologist.
The retrospective cohort study included data from 1053 patients treated by the inpatient oncology service and 1009 patients treated by the outpatient service from a single center between 2012 and 2018. The traditional attending model was converted to an inpatient oncology service in 2015. The oncology hospitalists had completed oncology fellowships.
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The 30-day readmission rate was significantly lower for patients who received care from an oncology hospitalist than for patients who received traditional outpatient oncology care (23.0% and 29.6%, respectively; P =.019).
The use of oncology hospitalists also significantly increased the rate of discharge to hospice when compared with the traditional model (18.1% and 12.1%, respectively; P <.001).
The use of oncology hospitalists did not affect length of stay (median, 5.3 days for both groups; P =.833) or inpatient mortality (2.4% with hospitalists and 3.1% without; P =.332).
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that the use of oncology hospitalists has a positive impact on patient care and the potential to add value to the hospital system.
Disclosures: Some of the study authors declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of disclosures.
Reference
Fanucci KA, Yang A, Chambers A, et al. Objective impact of hematology-oncology hospitalist care in an inpatient setting. JCO Oncol Pract. 2022;18:e1641-e1647. doi:10.1200/OP.22.00208
This article originally appeared on Hematology Advisor
