Table 2: Differences in medication discontinuation among groups and subgroups

Variable	No. of medication discontinuations, mean ± SD	p value for difference
MERA intervention group	3.1 ± 2.6	< 0.001*
Non-MERA comparison group	0.9 ± 1.5	< 0.001*
Within intervention group
Main inclusion criterion		0.6†
Age > 80 yr	3.0 ± 3.1
Metastatic cancer	2.8 ± 1.7
End-stage organ failure	3.6 ± 2.9
Role of palliative care		0.4†
Followed by palliative care specialist	4.0 ± 2.8
Never followed by palliative care specialist	2.8 ± 2.3
Palliative care consultation suggested by MERA team but refused by admitting team or patient	2.8 ± 3.3

Note: MERA = Medication Rationalization, SD = standard deviation.

*Mann-Whitney U test.

†Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA.