Impact of pathways on chemotherapy administration before death.
6580 Background: Continuing IV chemotherapy (chemo) in patients (pts) with advanced cancer near death neither extends survival nor improves quality, but does increase costs. Pathways (PW) programs have focused on comparing treatment (tx) costs but have not evaluated the impact on chemo given near death. The primary goal is to evaluate IV chemo administered in the last 14 days of life for pts treated On-PW vs. Off-PW. Methods: Eligible pts: in US Oncology’s (USO) iKnowMed (iKM) EHR; diagnosis (dx) of breast, colon, NSCLC, SCLC or pancreas cancer; >/=3 visits to a USO clinic; assessed for Level I PW compliance in the last 12 mths of life; and a documented date of death. IV chemo received in the last year of life was assessed. Pts were defined On-PW if all tx was On-PW or if pts did not receive IV chemo 12 mths before death (best supportive care). Pts were defined Off-PW if any tx received was Off-PW. PW-status, age, sex, dx, and last line of therapy (LOT) received were assessed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess if PW status predicted likelihood of chemo within 14-days of death. Results: From 7/1/09-6/30/12, 12,551 pts met inclusion criteria. PW status was independently associated with chemo 14 days before death. Pts treated Off-PW had a two-fold higher odds of receiving IV chemo within 14 days of death compared to pts treated On-PW (OR: 1.99; 95% CI: 1.77-2.26), see the Table. Findings were similar for each dx. Tx for pts On-PW vs Off-PW showed lower mean last LOT overall (1 vs. 2) and by dx. Conclusions: Pts On-PW were less likely to receive IV chemo within 14 days of death and had fewer LOT. This suggests adherence to Level I PWs is associated with improved quality metrics. [Table: see text]