Palliative End-of-Life Medication Prescribing Rates in Long-Term Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions in End-of-Life Cancer Patients in Home-Based Hospice Care

CONTEXT

Polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing are prevalent among end-of-life cancer patients, potentially compromising symptom management and quality of life. Limited data are available on potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and prescribing omissions (PPOs) of opioid in South Korea, particularly in home-based hospice care settings.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of PIMs and PPOs in advanced cancer patients referred to home-based hospice care and identify factors associated with these prescribing issues.

METHODS

A retrospective observational study included 102 advanced cancer patients referred to a single center's home-based hospice care between November 2022 and November 2023. PIMs were assessed using the STOPPFrail criteria, while PPOs were defined as inadequate opioid prescribing omissions for moderate to severe cancer pain. Logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with PIMs and PPOs.

RESULTS

PIMs were observed in 40.2% of patients, with higher prevalence in those over 70 years old (48.7%) and those with multiple comorbidities. Statins (25.5%) and antihypertensives (29.4%) were the most common PIMs. Among patients with moderate to severe cancer pain, 45.5% experienced PPOs due to inadequate opioid prescriptions. Older age (OR 3.90, P < 0.01) and comorbidities (OR 20.90, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with PIMs, while diabetes was linked to PPOs (OR 2.00, P = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight critical gaps in medication management for end-of-life cancer patients. Systematic deprescribing protocols and improved strategies to address opioid stigma and prescribing hesitancy are essential to align treatments with end-of-life care goals and enhance patient quality of life.

Variations in Prescribing Rates of End-of-Life Medications Among Long-Term Care Residents in Alberta Compared with Ontario-a Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

Prescribing rates for subcutaneous medications may be an indicator of quality of end-of-life care in long-term care (LTC). It is not known if this system level measure is valid across jurisdictions. We compared prescribing rates of medications used for end-of-life symptom relief among LTC residents in Alberta and Ontario.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study of LTC residents compared those who died between January 1, 2017, and March 17, 2020 in Alberta, with a published cohort from Ontario. Prescribed end-of-life medications during a resident's last 14 days of life were extracted from administrative dispensation records. LTC homes were ranked into quintiles based on prescribing rates within each home, and the home characteristics were described. The proportion of residents who transferred out of LTC in the last 14 days of life was also determined, as another quality measure.

Results

We identified 10,038 decedents in 117 LTC homes. Among LTC decedents, 16.9% were prescribed ≥1 injectable end-of-life medication and 44.9% were prescribed at least one end-of-life medication by any route of administration, within the last 14 days of life. Across prescribing quintiles, there were no associations with transfer rates prior to death. Comparing Alberta to Ontario, there were markedly lower rates of injectable medicine prescribing (16.9% vs. 64.7%). Potential reasons and data limitations were explored.

Conclusions

Rates of injectable end-of life medication prescribing differed across Alberta LTC homes; however, current provincial data limitations impact the validity of using these rates as a comparative indicator of the quality of end-of-life care.

Enablers and Barriers for End-of-Life Symptom Management Medications in Long-Term Care Homes: A Qualitative Study

OBJECTIVES

Long-term care (LTC) homes provide personal and medical care 24/7 to individuals unable to live at home due to illness or disability and are often the final place of care and death for their residents. Therefore, LTC homes are tasked with providing quality end-of-life care, often requiring injectable symptom management medications to relieve distressing symptoms (eg, pain). In this study, we aimed to understand the enablers and barriers to prescribing and administering end-of-life symptom management medications in LTC homes.

DESIGN

Qualitative study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

From February 2021 to December 2022, we conducted virtual semi-structured interviews with health care providers (physicians and nurses) who worked in Ontario LTC homes and family caregivers of residents who died in LTC.

METHODS

We analyzed interview transcripts using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

We identified 4 themes related to factors that may impact the prescribing and administering of medications for end-of-life symptom management: (1) identifying the end-of-life period and symptoms, (2) communication among health care providers and between health care providers and family caregivers, (3) health care provider competency with end-of-life medications, and (4) resources for LTC staff to support medication prescribing and administrating.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

In LTC, there are distinct challenges in the prescribing and administrating of end-of-life symptom management medications. Our findings can be used to inform interventions aimed at improving end-of-life care for LTC residents. However, these interventions require buy-in and investment from the provincial government and the LTC sector.

Changes in End-of-Life Symptom Management Prescribing among Long-Term Care Residents during COVID-19

OBJECTIVE

To examine changes in the prescribing of end-of-life symptom management medications in long-term care (LTC) homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study using routinely collected health administrative data in Ontario, Canada.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We included all individuals who died in LTC homes between January 1, 2017, and March 31, 2021. We separated the study into 2 periods: before COVID-19 (January 1, 2017, to March 17, 2020) and during COVID-19 (March 18, 2020, to March 31, 2021).

METHODS

For each LTC home, we measured the percentage of residents who died before and during COVID-19 who had a subcutaneous symptom management medication prescription in their last 14 days of life. We grouped LTC homes into quintiles based on their mean prescribing rates before COVID-19, and examined changes in prescribing during COVID-19 and COVID-19 outcomes across quintiles.

RESULTS

We captured 75,438 LTC residents who died in Ontario's 626 LTC homes during the entire study period, with 19,522 (25.9%) dying during COVID-19. The mean prescribing rate during COVID-19 ranged from 46.9% to 79.4% between the lowest and highest prescribing quintiles. During COVID-19, the mean prescribing rate in the lowest prescribing quintile increased by 9.6% compared to before COVID-19. Compared to LTC homes in the highest prescribing quintile, homes in the lowest prescribing quintile experienced the highest proportion of COVID-19 outbreaks (73.4% vs 50.0%), the largest mean outbreak intensity (0.27 vs 0.09 cases/bed), the highest mean total days with a COVID-19 outbreak (72.7 vs 24.2 days), and the greatest proportion of decedents who were transferred and died outside of LTC (22.1% vs 8.6%).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

LTC homes in Ontario had wide variations in the prescribing rates of end-of-life symptom management medications before and during COVID-19. Homes in the lower prescribing quintiles had more COVID-19 cases per bed and days spent in an outbreak.