Physicians' Perception of Palliative Care Consultation Service in a Major General Hospital in China / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

ABSTRACT

Objective s The in-hosptial palliative care consultation (PCC) is emerging as a routine service in some medical center in China. The current study evaluated how physicians in primary care team and consultation team perceive the PCC service for the purpose of investigating the effectiveness of this consultation model in a general hospital. Methods In-hosptial palliative care consultations have been carried out at Peking Union Medical College Hosptial by a dedicated consultation team, and 37 consultations were completed in 2016. A questionnaire was designed for physicians in terms of its benefits to patients,their family as well as the primary care team. Physicians who applied for consultation in 2016 formally (requested from the department other than the Geriatrics) and informally (by rotating residents and unemployed visiting doctors in geriatric department) were invited to participate in the survey by scanning a two dimentional code on social networking platform. Results There were 103 physicians participated in the survey, including primary care physicians from the department of Internal Medicine (n=8), Gynaecology (n=16) and Surgery (n=13), rotating residents (n=30), visiting doctors (n=16) in Geriatric department, and PCC team members (n=20). 94.0% of the non-PCC physicians agreed that PCC relieved the suffering of patients; 89.2% thought PCC improved the quality of patients' life; there were 91.6%, 95.2%, 90.4% physicians who felt it relieved the anxiety of patients, of family members and of care providers, respectively. There were 96.4% physicians who felt it could ease the tension in physician-patient relationship; 97.6% felt it lower the risk for medical negligence, and 96.4% of doctors who applied for PPC felt satisfied with PCC service in terms of process and achieving objectives of consultation. More primary-team physician agree "PCC service helps the physicians better understand palliative care" than PCC members (97.6% vs. 80%, P0.05). Conclusion Palliative care consultation service in a general hospital is efficacious and acclaimed.The primary care physicians and the PCC members hold positive attitudes to the benefits that the PCC services bring to patients, family members, and physicians themselves. PCC for terminal patients in a general hospital may serve as a good modle for promotion of palliative care in China.