Table 1.
Demographic and hospital characteristics of metastatic breast cancer patients stratified by receipt of palliative care consultation.
| Palliative Care Consultation (PCC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Sample | Yes | No | p-Value * | |
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Patient Characteristics | ||||
| Age (mean, std err) | 62.7 (0.02) | 64.2 (0.08) | 62.6 (0.02) | <0.0001 |
| <40 | 27,313 (5.3) | 1372 (4.7) | 25,941 (5.4) | |
| 40–49 | 73,772 (14.4) | 3416 (11.7) | 70,356 (14.5) | |
| 50–59 | 115,672 (22.5) | 6463 (22.1) | 109,209 (22.5) | |
| 60–69 | 121,776 (23.7) | 7055 (24.1) | 114,721 (23.7) | |
| 70+ | 175,076 (34.1) | 10,945 (37.4) | 164,131 (33.9) | |
| Race | <0.0001 | |||
| White | 314,465 (73.2) | 18,432 (68.5) | 296,033 (73.50 | |
| Black | 62,632 (14.6) | 4817 (17.9) | 57,815 (14.4) | |
| Other | 52,640 (12.2) | 3639 (13.5) | 49,001 (12.1) | |
| Missing | 83,872 | 2363 | 81,509 | |
| Insurance Payer | <0.0001 | |||
| GOV a | 299,264 (58.4) | 17,458 (59.8) | 281,806 (58.3) | |
| Private | 191,759 (37.4) | 9625 (33.0) | 182,134 (37.7) | |
| Other | 21,675 (4.2) | 2098 (7.2) | 19,577 (4.0) | |
| Missing | 911 | 70 | 841 | |
| Median household income category for patient’s ZIP code | <0.0001 | |||
| 0–25th percentile | 95,910 (19.0) | 6620 (23.1) | 89,290 (18.8) | |
| 26th to 50th percentile (median) | 121,113 (24.1) | 6683 (23.3) | 114,430 (24.1) | |
| 51st to 75th percentile | 128,060 (25.5) | 7252 (25.3) | 120,808 (25.5) | |
| 76th to 100th percentile | 158,011 (31.4) | 8122 (28.3) | 149,889 (31.6) | |
| Missing | 10,515 | 574 | 9941 | |
| Died during hospitalization | <0.0001 | |||
| Yes | 38,771 (7.6) | 10,060 (34.4) | 28,711 (5.9) | |
| No | 474,325 (92.4) | 19,164 (65.6) | 455,161 (94.1) | |
| Missing | 513 | 27 | 486 | |
| Hospital Characteristics | ||||
| Bed size of hospital | <0.0001 | |||
| Small | 63,322 (12.0) | 3377 (11.4) | 59,945 (12.0) | |
| Medium | 122,509 (23.8) | 7262 (25.0) | 115,247 (23.7) | |
| Large | 326,596 (64.2) | 18,530 (63.7) | 308,066 (64.3) | |
| Missing | 1182 | 82 | 1100 | |
| Location/teaching status of hospital | <0.0001 | |||
| Rural | 49,163 (9.7) | 1959 (6.8) | 47,204 (9.9) | |
| Urban nonteaching | 189,397 (36.3) | 8734 (29.5) | 180,663 (36.7) | |
| Urban teaching | 273,867 (54.0) | 18,476 (63.7) | 255,391 (53.4) | |
| Missing | 1182 | 82 | 1100 | |
| Region of hospital | <0.0001 | |||
| Northeast | 118,178 (23.7) | 6208 (21.6) | 111,970 (23.8) | |
| Midwest | 115,109 (22.8) | 6431 (22.1) | 108,678 (22.9) | |
| South | 181,400 (34.6) | 10,378 (35.2) | 171,022 (34.5) | |
| West | 98,922 (18.9) | 6234 (21.1) | 92,688 (18.8) | |
| Total Charges (mean, std) | 51,608 (461.8) | 43,330 (79.4) | <0.0001 | |
| Length of hospital stay (mean, std) | 7 (0.04) | 6 (0.01) | <0.0001 | |
* Chi-square test. a Gov, government (Medicare or Medicaid).