Wednesday, May 31, 2023
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Science Policy & Ethics

Less can be more at the end of life

May 17, 2018
in Science Policy & Ethics
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
IMAGE

Credit: Anthony Weate/QUT Marketing & Communication

Advances in medicine mean health care professionals can prolong life, yet some treatments have a low chance of providing tangible benefits to some patients, can result in a 'bad death' and represent a multi-million dollar cost to the public purse.

The Australian-first Reducing Non-Beneficial Treatment at the End-of-Life collaboration between QUT health and law researchers has been awarded a $504,187.80 Partnership Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council. Three hospital partners are investing a similar amount.

Chief Investigator Professor Nick Graves from QUT's Faculty of Health and Academic Director of the Australian Centre For Health Services Innovation (AusHSI), said prolonging an individual's death with 'futile' or 'non-beneficial' treatment could both increase suffering and waste money.

"Such treatments, which are pervasive in the health system, do not help patients who are dying, and cost the tax payer a lot of money. Programs to reduce their frequency should be developed and subject to research," said Professor Graves, who is based at QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation.

"Doctors provide treatment they perceive as non-beneficial for various reasons yet these treatments cause clinicians moral distress and increase the risk of a 'bad' death by prolonging or increasing patient suffering.

"Our project aims to increase awareness among hospital clinicians of the extent of non-beneficial treatment at the end-of-life and stimulate action to reduce the problem, as well as improve end-of-life care."

Professor Graves added the project builds on an earlier collaboration between QUT health researchers and law Professors Lindy Willmott and Ben White from QUT's Australian Centre for Health Law Research, where they, with researchers from the University of Queensland, identified reasons why doctors sometimes provide treatment they know to be futile.

That research measured incidences of futile treatment among end-of-life admissions; length of stay in both ward and intensive care settings for the duration that patients received futile treatments; health system costs associated with those treatments and the monetary value of bed days involved.

They found the incidence rate of futile treatment in end-of-life admissions was 12.1% across the three study hospitals. The cost associated with futile bed days was estimated to be $A12.4 million using health system costs, and $A988 000 when using a decision maker's willingness to pay for bed days. This was extrapolated to an annual national health system cost of $A153.1 million.

"An increased awareness of these economic costs may generate support for interventions designed to reduce futile treatments. We did not include emotional hardship or pain and suffering, which represent additional costs," said Professor Willmott.

"This new partnership takes the research one step further by seeking to reduce the provision of futile or non-beneficial treatment.

"It will allow hospitals to improve services at the end of life, free up hospital bed days and improve outcomes for patients and families. The connections made with health services and policy groups by the partnership will improve the likelihood of changing practice."

The project partners are QUT, Deeble Institute for Health Policy Research, Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association, Palliative Care Australia, Gold Coast University Hospital and Metro North Hospital and Health Service – The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital & the Prince Charles Hospital.

The collaboration incudes researchers from QUT, UNSW, the University of Adelaide and UQ.

###

Media contact: Amanda Weaver, QUT Media, 07 3138 3151, [email protected]
After hours: Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901, [email protected]

Media Contact

Amanda Weaver
[email protected]
@qutmedia

http://www.qut.edu.au

Original Source

https://www.qut.edu.au/news?id=130812

Share25Tweet16Share4ShareSendShare
  • blank

    Why expensive wine appears to taste better

    68 shares
    Share 27 Tweet 17
  • Element creation in the lab deepens understanding of surface explosions on neutron stars

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • VIMS study reveals widgeongrass has replaced eelgrass as the dominant seagrass species in Chesapeake Bay

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Common additive may be why you have food allergies

    125 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Biological cleanup discovered for certain “forever chemicals”

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation announces 2023 grant recipients to accelerate discovery of new treatments for pediatric cancers

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

Element creation in the lab deepens understanding of surface explosions on neutron stars

Study finds that eight factors put Black adults at greater risk of early death

Scientists target human stomach cells for diabetes therapy

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 206 other subscribers

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In