Vancouver General Hospital Palliative Care Unit utilization review.

This paper describes the utilization pattern in the Palliative Care Unit at Vancouver General Hospital for a six-month period (1 April-30 September 1991) and relates the information provided to the mandate of the palliative care program. It is a retrospective study of 139 patients discharged during this period. Data were collected from the Hospital Medical Records Institute (HMRI), the Medical Records Department of Vancouver General Hospital, patients' charts, the palliative care unit admission/discharge book, and palliative care consultation statistics.