ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study was to obtain the insights about the roles of specialized home care clinics and the “Doctor net” in community palliative care by investigating changes in the home death rates of cancer patients in a city where both specialized home care clinics and the Doctor net are available. A region palliative care intervention study was conducted, and data on the rate of cancer patients who died at home between 2007 and 2010 in the region were collected. The rate of cancer patients who died at home increased from 7.0% in 2007 to 13.0% in 2010. In 2007, 49% of the total number of people who died at home were patients of specialized home care clinics, and the rate increased to 13.0% in 2010. However, the number of cancer patients of other clinics who died at home did not decrease, from 63 in 2007 to 98 in 2009 and 77 in 2010. The functions of specialized home care clinics and the Doctor net adopted in general clinics were not exclusive to each other, and specialized home care clinics may improve palliative care implemented for cancer patients at home by participating in the Doctor net to provide general clinics with support.
