Referrals in Focus: A Retrospective Study of Palliative Care Referrals from Rheumatology Providers at an Academic Medical Center.

Background: People with rheumatic diseases suffer from serious complications of their illness, though little research is available on the utilization of palliative care (PC) for this population. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients referred to outpatient PC from a single academic rheumatology practice over five years and reviewed patients seen concurrently by rheumatology and PC in the inpatient setting over one year. Results: Of 18,441 patients seen in the outpatient rheumatology practice over five years, 11 (0.06%) patients were referred to PC by rheumatology providers. Of the 527 patients seen by inpatient rheumatology over a year period, 14 (3%) had rheumatic disease and were also seen by inpatient PC. Average time to death was 190 days among outpatients and 139 days among inpatients. Conclusion: Patients with rheumatic disease are rarely referred to PC despite high morbidity and mortality. Interventions are needed to improve this gap in care.

Duke Scholars

Author Christopher Jones Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care