Mean healthcare expenditure ($A) and its 95% CI in the last 6 months of life, by quintile of GP visits in the 18–7 months before death
| Mean healthcare expenditure (95% CI) for the decedent cohort | Mean healthcare expenditure (95% CI) by quintile of GP visits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1–2 | 3–5 | 6–10 | 11+ | p Value for trend | ||
| Total healthcare costs | |||||||
| Unadjusted | 20 453 (20 439 to 20 466) | 19 413 (18 713 to 20 113) | 19 742 (18 860 to 20 624) | 20 355 (19 603 to 21 106) | 20 740 (19 988 to 21 492) | 21 877 (21 055 to 22 699) | <0.001 |
| Adjusted | 20 495 (20 427 to 20 562) | 19 333 (19 195 to 19 471) | 19 782 (19 615 to 19 948) | 20 314 (20 175 to 20 453) | 20 891 (20 751 to 21 030) | 22 022 (21 867 to 22 177) | <0.001 |
| All hospital admissions | |||||||
| Unadjusted | 18 753 (18 749 to 18 757) | 18 363 (17 658 to 19 068) | 18 535 (17 654 to 19 416) | 18 893 (18 150 to 19 635) | 18 811 (18 085 to 19 537) | 19 124 (18 359 to –19 889) | 0.14 |
| Adjusted | 18 792 (18 728 to 18 856) | 18 303 (18 165 to 18 441) | 18 585 (18 420 to 18 750) | 18 857 (18 721 to 18 993) | 18 956 (18 823 to 19 090) | 19 226 (19 084 to 19 369) | 0.33 |
| Preventable hospitalisation | |||||||
| Unadjusted | 3151 (3150 to 3152) | 3224 (2911 to 3537) | 3281 (2887 to 3676) | 3083 (2777 to 3390) | 3121 (2817 to 3426) | 3082 (2771 to 3394) | 0.42 |
| Adjusted | 3190 (3163 to 3217) | 3302 (3242 to 3361) | 3242 (3166 to 3319) | 3160 (3102 to 3218) | 3160 (3104 to 3215) | 3096 (3039 to 3154) | 0.08 |
| All ED presentations | |||||||
| Unadjusted | 971 (971 to 972) | 1017 (982 to 1051) | 952 (912 to 992) | 951 (918 to 984) | 961 (928 to 994) | 967 (933 to 1002) | 0.06 |
| Adjusted | 973 (970 to 975) | 1018 (1013 to 1024) | 951 (945 to 957) | 951 (946 to 957) | 964 (958 to 969) | 971 (965 to 977) | 0.02 |
| All MBS claims | |||||||
| Unadjusted | 415 (410 to 421) | 24.4 (21.8 to 27.1) | 171 (149 to 195) | 318 (283 to 353) | 531 (473 to 589) | 988 (876 to 1099) | <0.001 |
| Adjusted | 428 (422 to 434) | 22.5 (22.4 to 22.7) | 173 (172 to 175) | 327 (325 to 330) | 542 (538 to 546) | 1030 (1022 to 1038) | <0.001 |
| GP MBS claims | |||||||
| Unadjusted | 124 (123 to 126) | 6.5 (5.9 to 7.1) | 47.3 (41.7 to 52.9) | 87.6 (79.0 to 96.2) | 152 (137 to 167) | 315 (283 to 346) | <0.001 |
| Adjusted | 127 (125 to 129) | 6.1 (6.1 to 6.2) | 47.5 (47.1 to 47.8) | 88.8 (88.2 to 89.5) | 154 (153 to 155) | 325 (322 to 327) | <0.001 |
| Specialist MBS claims | |||||||
| Unadjusted | 65.2 (64.4 to 66.0) | 3.2 (2.7 to 3.7) | 25.5 (20.2 to 30.7) | 55.6 (46.1 to 65.1) | 86.7 (72.2 to 101.2) | 148 (122 to 173) | <0.001 |
| Adjusted | 69.9 (68.9 to 71.0) | 2.6 (2.6 to 2.6) | 26.2 (25.9 to 26.6) | 58.6 (57.9 to 59.3) | 94.6 (93.5 to 95.7) | 159 (157 to 161) | <0.001 |
| All other MBS claims | |||||||
| Unadjusted | 226 (223 to 229) | 14.7 (12.7 to 16.8) | 98.8 (81.9 to 115.7) | 175 (150 to 199) | 293 (252 to 333) | 525 (450 to 601) | <0.001 |
| Adjusted | 235 (232 to 238) | 13.3 (13.2 to 13.4) | 99.8 (98.8 to 100.8) | 183 (182 to 185) | 300 (298 to 303) | 555 (550 to 559) | <0.001 |
| All PBS claims | |||||||
| Unadjusted | 313 (308 to 318) | 8.3 (6.7 to 10.0) | 83.1 (62.5 to 103.7) | 193 (154 to 233) | 437 (349 to 525) | 798 (631 to 964) | <0.001 |
| Adjusted | 328 (323 to 333) | 7.4 (7.3 to 7.4) | 85.2 (84.0 to 86.3) | 201 (199 to 204) | 452 (447 to 457) | 845 (835 to 855) | <0.001 |
Values were adjusted mean of costs either unadjusted or adjusted for age at death (10-year groups), sex, language, education, private health insurance, number of comorbidities, self-reported health status, functional limitation, psychological distress and random effect of statistical local area. p Values for trend were estimated for each comparison using the lowest quintile as a reference group. Bold values indicate a statistically significant difference at p<0.05.
ED, emergency department; MBS, Medical Benefits Schedule; PBS, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.