Quote:
Originally Posted by jdh71
I wonder how much of the US number is skewed by end of life care that is expensive, usually unnecessary, and futile. A lot of the heroics we attempt in the ICU they simply don't do in other countries, and I think much of it is cultural more than horrible mean systems that won't pay for it.
That and third/fourth/hell, fifth line chemotherapies too.
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When you consider that an overwhelming majority of people on Medicare use the most resources in their last few months of life, I have to imagine that it's heavily skewed. I wonder what the costs would be if you simply cut neonatal and end-of-life ICU stays (this obviously isn't possible in reality, but pretend we could). I'm guessing they'd fall substantially.
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