A hospice/palliative medicine consultation team was formed in July 1993 in a U.S. teachinghospital to provide patient care and education. The team consists of an attending physician,nurse, fellow, and any residents or medical students rotating on the service. More than 500consultations are received each year. Beginning in January 1995,108 consecutive referrals tothe service were assessed using a standard form completed by the nurse. The average age was62 years. The gender of patients was 58% male and 42% female. At the time of consultation87% were hospitalized on general medical services (including hematology/oncology), 4% wereon surgical services, 3% on the neurology service, and 6% were in an intensive care unit. Cancerwas the primary diagnosis in 52%, AIDS in 24%, with the rest being distributed amongcardiac, renal, pulmonary, neurologic, and other diseases. The most prominent physical symptomswere 48% weakness/malaise, 44% pain, 28% dyspnea, and 23% agitation/confusion. Theaverage length of time patients were followed was 2 days (range 1-10). We conclude that ahospice/palliative medicine consultation service sees a broad range of patients and problemsand is a rich resource for teaching hospice and palliative medicine.
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