National palliative care measures

This measure is about ensuring that people with life-limiting illnesses receive well-coordinated multidisciplinary care at the end of life. A potentially preventable hospitalisation is indicative of a lack of early disease management and/or preventive health intervention typically delivered in primary and community-based care. There are many factors that can contribute to this including patient choice, a lack of at-home support, and/or barriers to accessing primary and community care such as geographical remoteness, affordability, or opening hours.

Note, data for this measure are not available for Western Australia and Northern Territory. This means the counts presented here underestimate national totals and the influence on proportions is unknown.

The desired outcome is that fewer people with life-limiting illnesses are hospitalised for a potentially preventable reason in their last 3 months of life, meaning the measure will decrease.

Objective area: Continuous   Outcome area: Coordinated care

Trends

In 2018, among people with life-limiting illnesses whose death was registered in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, or the Australian Capital Territory, 12.9% were hospitalised for a potentially preventable reason in their last 3 months of life. This decreased to 11.9% in 2020 (Figure 4.1.1).

Figure 4.1.1: Proportion of people with life-limiting illnesses with a potentially preventable hospitalisation in their last 3 months of life, 2018-2020

Characteristics

Among people with life-limiting illnesses in 2020, almost two-thirds (65.8%) of potentially preventable hospitalisations lasted for 3 days or more. Most potentially preventable hospitalisations (69.9%) were for chronic conditions.

Figure 4.1.2 highlights that the proportion of people with life-limiting illnesses who had a potentially preventable hospitalisation in their last 3 months of life, and whose death was registered in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, or the Australian Capital Territory in 2020 varied by these characteristics:

• The lowest proportions were in Tasmania, where 10.1% of people with life-limiting illnesses were hospitalised for a potentially preventable reason in their last 3 months of life, and in Victoria (10.5%). Differences between states and territories should be interpreted with caution as modes of service delivery, definitions, and data recording practices differ across states and territories.
• The proportion increased with increasing remoteness – Major Cities had the lowest proportion (11.5%) and Remote and Very Remote (combined) had the highest proportion (18.3%). 
  Note, Western Australia and Northern Territory are not included in these data so disaggregation by remoteness area should be interpreted with caution (see Data sources for more information).
• A slightly higher proportion of males (12.5%) were hospitalised for a potentially preventable reason in their last 3 months of life when compared with females (11.3%).
• The proportion generally increased as age increased – 7.7% of people aged 25-34 years were hospitalised for a potentially preventable reason in their last 3 months of life, compared with 13.5% of people aged 75-84 (although slightly lower for those 85 or over at 11.0%).
• The proportion increased with increasing disadvantage – 8.6% of people who lived in the highest socioeconomic areas were hospitalised for a potentially preventable reason in their last 3 months of life, compared with 14.4% of people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas.
• The proportion varied considerably by cause of death – the highest proportion was among people with respiratory diseases (31.5%) and the lowest proportion was for people with neurodegenerative diseases (4.6%).

Figure 4.1.2: Proportion of people with life-limiting illnesses with a potentially preventable hospitalisation in their last 3 months of life, by selected characteristics, 2020