Background: In Ireland, weekend and night medical cover for community based patients is largely provided by general practice co-operatives. Doctors working in this service do not have direct access to patients' medical records which challenges continuity of care.
Objectives: This study investigates the opinion of general practitioners (GPs) on the potential value of a formalised method of information transfer regarding their palliative patients to out-of-hours GP co-operatives. The survey was designed to identify the information that is necessary to offer appropriate anticipated end-of-life care.
Methods: A questionnaire was sent to all 414 GPs registered in the Irish Medical Directory in the southwest of Ireland. Data were analysed with Microsoft Excel and SPSS V.12.0.
Results: 52% response rate with exclusion of incomplete questionnaires allowed analysis of 212 data sets. Currently, 82% of GPs do not routinely transfer information pertaining to end-of-life issues to the out-of-hours service. Despite this, 96% would value a standardised way of transferring information. 67% felt they sometimes refer unnecessarily to hospital emergency departments due to lack of information. The most important items of information identified by study participants are as follows: ▸ Diagnosis (97%) ▸ Medications (94%) ▸ Patient insight (91%) ▸ Patient wishes regarding end-of-life care (90%) ▸ Anticipated problems and suggested management(90%).
Conclusions: A structured format for information transfer regarding end-of-life care is deemed important by GPs when working on-call at night and weekends. Diagnosis, patient preference and management plans are valued.
Keywords: Communication; Service evaluation; Supportive care.