Feasible and cost effective: a retrospective cohort study of palliative care needs rounds in residential aged care.
Objectives There is an acute unmet need for specialist palliative care services in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs). Palliative care needs rounds (Needs Rounds) are a promising evidence-based outreach approach to improve access to specialist care for this population. This study aimed to evaluate...
| Publicado en: | Age & Ageing Vol. 55; no. 6; pp. 1 - 8 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Oxford University Press / USA
Jun2026
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=195099721&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 195099721 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00020729 AGA jtl: Age & Ageing issn: 00020729 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jun2026 vid: 55 iid: 6 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 195099721 10.1093/ageing/afag173 ppf: 1 ppct: 7 formats: tig: atl: Feasible and cost effective: a retrospective cohort study of palliative care needs rounds in residential aged care. aug: au: Morgan, Nicola Aakula, Harish Norling, Tracey Tripp, Lucy Duong, Uyen Smith, Rebecca Merlo, Gregory Broadbent, Andrew Mickan, Sharon affil: Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service - Supportive and Palliative Care Services, Southport, Queensland, AustraliaBond University Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine - School of Medicine, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia Bond University Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine - School of Medicine, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service - Supportive and Palliative Care Services, Southport, Queensland, Australia Townsville Hospital and Health Service - Speech Pathology, Townsville, Queensland, Australia Queensland Government Department of Health and Ageing - Health Improvement Unit, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia su: Australia Elder care Health services accessibility Palliative treatment Cost effectiveness Human services programs Patients Hospital admission & discharge Retrospective studies Nursing care facilities Medical care use Public hospitals Cost control Emergency room visits Longitudinal method Pre-tests & post-tests Hospital rounds Research methodology Medical needs assessment Health outcome assessment Residential care Evaluation sug: subj: Elder care Health services accessibility Palliative treatment Cost effectiveness Human services programs Patients Hospital admission & discharge Retrospective studies Nursing care facilities Australia Continuing Care Retirement Communities Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) Community care facilities for the elderly General Medical and Surgical Hospitals Other Residential Care Facilities Medical care use Public hospitals Cost control Emergency room visits Longitudinal method Pre-tests & post-tests Hospital rounds Research methodology Medical needs assessment Health outcome assessment Residential care Evaluation keyword: aged copyrightHolder:British Geriatrics Society copyrightYear:2026 cost effectiveness cost savings cost-effectiveness health services hospital admission https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afag173 implementation inLanguage:en internship and residency medical residencies older people palliative palliative care participation in ward rounds publisher:Oxford University Press residential sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42315168/ aged copyrightHolder:British Geriatrics Society copyrightYear:2026 cost effectiveness cost savings cost-effectiveness health services hospital admission https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afag173 implementation inLanguage:en internship and residency medical residencies older people palliative palliative care participation in ward rounds publisher:Oxford University Press residential sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42315168/ ab: Objectives There is an acute unmet need for specialist palliative care services in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs). Palliative care needs rounds (Needs Rounds) are a promising evidence-based outreach approach to improve access to specialist care for this population. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and cost effectiveness of implementing needs rounds across a metropolitan Australian health service. Methods A retrospective pre–post cohort study was conducted comparing outcomes from May–October 2021 with the same period in 2019. Primary outcomes were emergency department (ED) presentations and hospital admissions among RACH residents. Secondary outcomes included estimated cost savings and released hospital capacity. Analyses were conducted from the perspective of the public health service provider. Findings are descriptive, and no formal statistical hypothesis testing was undertaken. Results Needs rounds were implemented in 39 of 56 RACHs (70%) within the first nine months. Facilities not participating were primarily affected by operational constraints, including staffing pressures and pandemic-related disruptions. Compared with 2019, ED presentations declined by 20% and hospital admissions by 64%. Estimated cost savings associated with reduced hospital utilization were AU$498,315 per month. These findings should be interpreted cautiously given concurrent system-wide changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion Needs rounds appear feasible to implement at scale and may reduce hospital utilization among RACH residents. Preliminary economic findings suggest potential cost savings and released capacity within the health system. However, causal attribution remains uncertain, and full implementation costs were not captured. Further controlled studies incorporating patient-centred outcomes are required. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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