Outpatient physician encounters in last 12 months and last 3 months of life among decedents who died in Ontario, Canada, from 2013 to 2017 by end-of-life trajectory
| Outcome of interest | End-of-life trajectory | Total cohort n = 359 559 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal illness n = 124 995 | Organ failure n = 119 804 | Frailty n = 74 750 | Sudden death n = 19 023 | Other n = 20 987 | ||||||||
| Mean ± SD | Median (IQR) | Mean ± SD | Median (IQR) | Mean ± SD | Median (IQR) | Mean ± SD | Median (IQR) | Mean ± SD | Median (IQR) | Mean ± SD | Median (IQR) | |
| Last 12 months of life | ||||||||||||
| No. encounters with all physicians | 24.2 ± 15.0 | 22 (14–32) | 13.6 ± 11.2 | 11 (6–18) | 11.6 ± 10.4 | 9 (4–16) | 11.9 ± 12.1 | 8 (4–16) | 13.5 ± 11.3 | 11 (5–18) | 16.8 ± 13.7 | 14 (7–23) |
| No. home encounters with all physicians | 2.4 ± 5.7 | 0 (0–3) | 1.0 ± 3.7 | 0 (0–0) | 1.0 ± 3.4 | 0 (0–0) | 0.3 ± 2.3 | 0 (0–0) | 0.8 ± 3.0 | 0 (0–0) | 1.4 ± 4.5 | 0 (0–1) |
| No. encounters with a family physician | 12.1 ± 10.6 | 10 (5–16) | 7.7 ± 7.9 | 6 (3–10) | 6.9 ± 7.5 | 5 (2–9) | 7.4 ± 9.2 | 5 (2–9) | 7.3 ± 7.7 | 5 (2–10) | 9.0 ± 9.2 | 7 (3–12) |
| No. encounters with other specialties | 12.1 ± 9.7 | 10 (5–17) | 5.9 ± 6.8 | 4 (1–8) | 4.8 ± 6.1 | 3 (1–7) | 4.5 ± 6.5 | 2 (0–6) | 6.2 ± 7.3 | 4 (1–9) | 7.8 ± 8.4 | 5 (2–11) |
| No. unique specialties involved | 4.9 ± 2.1 | 5 (3–6) | 3.6 ± 2.1 | 3 (2–5) | 3.1 ± 2.0 | 3 (2–4) | 2.8 ± 1.9 | 2 (1–4) | 3.6 ± 2.1 | 3 (2–5) | 3.9 ± 2.2 | 4 (2–5) |
| No. unique physicians involved | 8.0 ± 4.0 | 8 (5–10) | 5.0 ± 3.4 | 4 (2–7) | 4.3 ± 3.2 | 3 (2–6) | 4.2 ± 3.4 | 3 (2–6) | 5.1 ± 3.6 | 4 (2–7) | 5.9 ± 4.0 | 5 (3–8) |
| Last 3 months of life | ||||||||||||
| No. encounters with all physicians | 10.2 ± 7.8 | 9 (5–13) | 5.1 ± 4.6 | 4 (2–7) | 4.3 ± 4.0 | 3 (2–6) | 4.3 ± 4.3 | 3 (2–6) | 5.1 ± 4.2 | 4 (2–7) | 6.8 ± 6.4 | 5 (2–9) |
| No. home encounters with all physicians | 1.9 ± 4.1 | 0 (0–2) | 0.6 ± 2.0 | 0 (0–0) | 0.5 ± 1.6 | 0 (0–0) | 0.2 ± 1.3 | 0 (0–0) | 0.4 ± 1.5 | 0 (0–0) | 1.0 ± 2.9 | 0 (0–1) |
| No. encounters with a family physician | 6.4 ± 7.0 | 4 (2–8) | 3.0 ± 3.8 | 2 (1–4) | 2.7 ± 3.2 | 2 (1–3) | 2.6 ± 3.4 | 2 (1–3) | 2.7 ± 3.3 | 2 (1–3) | 4.1 ± 5.4 | 3 (1–5) |
| No. encounters with other specialties | 3.9 ± 3.8 | 3 (1–6) | 2.1 ± 2.6 | 1 (0–3) | 1.7 ± 2.3 | 1 (0–2) | 1.7 ± 2.5 | 1 (0–2) | 2.3 ± 2.8 | 1 (0–3) | 2.7 ± 3.2 | 2 (0–4) |
| No. unique specialties involved | 2.9 ± 1.5 | 3 (2–4) | 2.2 ± 1.3 | 2 (1–3) | 2.0 ± 1.2 | 2 (1–3) | 1.9 ± 1.2 | 2 (1–2) | 2.3 ± 1.3 | 2 (1–3) | 2.4 ± 1.4 | 2 (1–3) |
| No. unique physicians involved | 4.4 ± 2.4 | 4 (3–6) | 2.8 ± 1.9 | 2 (1–4) | 2.5 ± 1.7 | 2 (1–3) | 2.5 ± 1.8 | 2 (1–3) | 2.9 ± 1.9 | 2 (1–4) | 3.4 ± 2.2 | 3 (2–5) |
Note: IQR = interquartile range, SD = standard deviation.