Impacto econômico da atuação de equipes consultoras de cuidados paliativos inseridas em hospital

Abstract

Hospitalizations of chronic patients are, in general, prolonged. Inadequate measures are often used which, in addition to prolonging suffering, represent consumption of substantial health resources. In this context, the performance of palliative care (PC) consulting teams can represent an increase in the quality of care and a reduction in costs. The objective of this study is to present the results of a bibliographic review on the economic impact of the work of PC consulting teams inserted in hospitals during the period from 2015 to 2020. This is a systematic review of the literature in the databases LILACS, SCOPUS (Elsevier), PubMed, SciELO and MEDLINE. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. There is evidence that interventions by PC consulting teams favor the reduction of hospital costs, as they contribute to lower rates of hospital readmission, shorter average length of stay, fewer diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and fewer ICU admissions. There is an economic advantage to the approach of PC consulting teams. Thus, the evidence can assist in the decision making of health managers regarding the organization of services and investment in teams specialized in PC.