Predicting the clinical course of dementia is often challenging, which can limit the timely implementation of palliative care. This study explored how palliative care influences healthcare utilization and examined factors potentially associated with mortality among patients with advanced dementia. We included 57 residents with advanced dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating ≥ 5 or Functional Assessment Staging Test stage 7b) enrolled in a palliative care program at a long-term care facility in Taipei, Taiwan. Comparisons were made between medical service use before and after initiation of palliative care. Multivariable logistic regression was applied to identify variables linked to 6-month mortality, both prior to and following palliative care. Following the introduction of palliative care, participants had notable reductions in healthcare utilization, including outpatient visits, prescription medications, hospital admissions, and emergency department visits (all p < 0.001). While univariate analysis suggested that patients who died within six months had a slightly higher number of hospitalizations prior to receiving hospice care (p = 0.058), this association did not remain significant in multivariate models. The findings indicate that palliative care can meaningfully reduce healthcare utilization among individuals with advanced dementia. Additional studies with larger samples are needed to clarify the determinants of short-term mortality in this population.
