OBJECTIVES: To characterize patients receiving palliative care, to estimate the incidence and prevalence of palliative conditions and to estimate the 1-year all-cause mortality in patients receiving their first palliative care treatment based on German real world data (RWD).

METHODS: Source of data was the InGef Research Database comprising data of more than four million people who are enrolled in German statutory health insurance companies. The epidemiology of palliative conditions was estimated for the year 2015. The incidence rate of palliative conditions was assessed in patients who did not have documented palliative care services in the year prior to the observation period. One-year all-cause mortality in patients receiving their first palliative care treatment was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Case identification was based on specific outpatient and inpatient reimbursement codes indicating palliative treatment.

RESULTS: The age-standardized incidence rate of palliative conditions was 37.1 per 10,000 persons in women and 31.2 per 10,000 in men. Age-standardized prevalence of palliative conditions was 54.8 per 10,000 persons in women and 45.6 per 10,000 persons in men. The 1-year all-cause mortality was 67.5 % among patients receiving their first palliative care treatment. Mortality was higher in patients receiving a specialized outpatient palliative care treatment (SAPV) (86.1%) and in patients with an inpatient palliative care treatment (86.1%) compared to those receiving a general outpatient palliative care treatment (AAPV) as initial therapeutic approach (60.8%). Mortality was particularly high within the first 50 days (~43%).

CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 279,170 patients initiate palliative care treatment per year. Due to this high incidence of palliative care provision and the high mortality rates of patients suffering from palliative conditions, the palliative care sector is highly relevant regarding health care planning in Germany. As for many other purposes, RWD may serve as a valid information base for steering processes in this area.