Palliative care - Profile of the physician in the region of Quebec City

OBJECTIVE To describe the palliative care provided by physicians in the Que bec city region and to identify factors that affect its delivery. DESIGN Mailed survey. SETTING Quebec city region. PARTICIPANTS General practitioners in active clinical practice. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Physicians' personal and professional characteristics and their palliative care practice (volume of work, source of requests for follow-up care, place of delivery of care, resources used, difficulties en countered). RESULTS Of the 476 physicians (67%) who responded to our survey, 295 (62%) provided palliative care. Of these, 70% saw no more than two patients requi ring palliative care per month, and 55% devoted no more than 2 hours per we ek to this aspect of patient care. Most (76%) provided palliative care in a variety of settings (private office, home, institution). Home care teams w orking out of local community health centres are the resource physicians dr ew upon most frequently (69%). The main difficulties encountered were a lac k of clinical expertise, scheduling home care, and providing patients and f amilies with emotional support. CONCLUSION Most physicians in the Quebec city region provided palliative ca re occasionally. This care could be improved by removing various logistical and professional barriers.