Code Status Discussions at Hospital Admission Are Not Associated With Patient and Surrogate Satisfaction With Hospital Care: Results From the Multicenter Hospitalist Study

Background: Physicians may avoid code status discussions for fear of decreasing patient or surrogate satisfaction. Methods: Charts of patients admitted to medical services at 6 university hospitals were reviewed for documentation of a code status discussion in the first 24 hours of admission. Satisfaction with care provided during the hospitalization was assessed by telephone 1 month after discharge. Results: Of the 11 717 patients with 1-month follow-up, 1090 (9.3%) had a code status discussion documented. Patient or surrogate satisfaction did not differ by whether a discussion was documented. The lack of association persisted after adjusting for patient’s severity of illness and using propensity adjustment for likelihood of having a discussion. Conclusions: Discussing code status on admission to the inpatient setting did not affect patient or surrogate satisfaction.