| The amount of time spent in hospice is a primary factor predicting patient and family satisfaction with end-of-life care (Adams, Bader, & Horn, 2009). However, the trends in hospice referrals in the United States show that even though there has been an increase in the number of patients who use hospice services over the last 30 years, the length of time spent in hospice has declined (National Hospice, 2010). Though much research has been done on psychological factors limiting or slowing the referral process into hospice, little is known if patient or physician characteristics influence the timeliness of the referral process. Accordingly, this study examined the relationship between hospice referral patterns and various oncology patient and physician characteristics. In this study, 120 medical records of deceased patients from the Providence Portland Oncology Department (PPOD) were randomly selected and reviewed. Thirteen physicians at the PPOD were also emailed a questionnaire that solicited both qualitative and quantitative data regarding physician characteristics. While no new patient characteristics were identified as hospice barriers, results indicated that physicians who were educated either during or after medical school regarding hospice, self-reported referring more patients than those physicians who had not received such training. Also, this study found that those oncologists who identified as having a spiritual dimension in their lives, tended to make more hospice referrals. |
