Observational studyBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2018
Physicians' political preferences and the delivery of end of life care in the United States: retrospective observational study.
Observational study in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Comparing Methods for Attributing Hospital Quality Metrics to Individual Physicians: Impact on Performance Assessment and Outlier Identification.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- Health Worker Protests in Canada: A Descriptive Analysis of Protest Events From 2021-2022.Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante · 2025Article
- The Association of Attending Physicians' Publications and Patients' Readmission Rates: Evidence from Tertiary Hospitals in China Using a Retrospective Data Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Effects of Age, Gender, Health Status, and Political Party on COVID-19-Related Concerns and Prevention Behaviors: Results of a Large, Longitudinal Cross-sectional Survey.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2021Article
- Regional differences in healthcare costs at the end of life: an observational study using Swiss insurance claims data.International journal of public health · 2020Observational
- Editors Should Declare Conflicts of Interest.Journal of bioethical inquiry · 2019Article
- Characteristics of Physicians Excluded From US Medicare and State Public Insurance Programs for Fraud, Health Crimes, or Unlawful Prescribing of Controlled Substances.JAMA network open · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo compare the delivery of end of life care given to US Medicare beneficiaries in hospital by internal medicine physicians with Republican versus Democrat political affiliations.
designRetrospective observational study.
settingUS Medicare.
participantsRandom sample of Medicare beneficiaries, who were admitted to hospital in 2008-12 with a general medical condition, and died in hospital or shortly thereafter.
main outcome measuresTotal inpatient spending, intensive care unit use, and intensive end of life treatments (eg, mechanical ventilation and gastrostomy tube insertion) among patients dying in hospital, and hospice referral among patients discharged but at high predicted risk of 30 day mortality after discharge. Physicians were categorized as Democrat, Republican, or non-donors, using federal political contribution data.
resultsAmong 1 480 808 patients, 93 976 (6.3%) were treated by 1523 Democratic physicians, 58 876 (4.0%) by 768 Republican physicians, and 1 327 956 (89.6%) by 23 627 non-donor physicians. Patient demographics and clinical characteristics were similar between groups. Democrat physicians were younger, more likely to be female, and more likely to have graduated from a top 20 US medical school than Republican physicians. Mean end of life spending, after adjustment for patient covariates and hospital specific fixed effects, was US$17 938 (£12 872; €14 612) among Democrat physicians (95% confidence interval $17 176 to $18 700) and $18 409 among Republican physicians ($17 362 to $19 456; adjusted Republican
conclusionsThis study provided no evidence that physician political affiliation is associated with the intensity of end of life care received by patients in hospital. Other treatments for politically polarised healthcare issues should be investigated.
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