Korean J Geriatr Gerontol.  2021 Dec;22(2):93-103. 10.15656/kjcg.2021.22.2.93.

Comparison of Medical Use and Cost between IoT Users and Non-Users according to the Use of IoT in Home-Based HospicePalliative Care

• Kim YS
• Lee Jw
• Kim Y
• Yoo HS
• Kang HT

• KMID: 2566418
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15656/kjcg.2021.22.2.93

Abstract

Background
Hospice-palliative care (HPC) aims to provide comprehensive comfort through impeccable assessment and the physical, psychological, socioeconomic, and spiritual care of terminally ill patients and their caregivers. This study aims to analyze the medical use and cost of home-based HPC according to the use of Internet of Things (IoT) service in.
Methods
89 terminal cancer patients enrolled in home-based HPC were included in this prospective study. Of these, 11 patients agreed to use IoT monitoring at home. Using the Mann-Whitney U test, we compared the medical usage and cost in HPC and palliative care units (PCUs) with the control group (IoT non-users).
Results
The median age of IoT users and non-users was 77.0 and 69.5 years, respectively. Marital status, insurance type, and awareness of the terminal stage were not significantly different between IoT users and non-users. The percentage of caregivers living with patients was higher in IoT non-users in all participants and in patients who used both home-based HPC and a PCU than in IoT users. The duration of home-based HPC was longer in IoT users (53.0 days) than in IoT non-users (18.0 days). The median medical cost of home-based HPC was higher in IoT users than in non-users (2,005,000 vs 633,000 KRW). The length of stay in a PCU, total cost of a PCU, and total cost of HPC did not show a significant difference between IoT users and non-users.
Conclusion
The use of IoT services in home-based HPC could help in the community care of terminal cancer patients without increasing overall medical costs.

Keyword

Healthcare costs; Home care services; Hospice care; Internet of things; Terminal care