Oral

This panel will present differing perspectives on the appropriate methodology to evaluate hospital resource use at the end of life. The panel will contrast the “looking back” approach with an alternative “looking forward” approach, and highlight the strengths and limitations of each, as well as the policy implications use in clinical performance improvement of conclusions drawn from the results of each. The panel will draw on the findings of a multi-center collaborative research project of the six California academic medical centers (the five University of California medical centers plus Cedars-Sinai). The panelists will include members of the multi-center collaborative research project, as well as discussants who can comment on methodology and policy implications.