Refer A Patient

When should you refer a patient?

The following broad referral criteria have been developed to help you assess whether a palliative care referral would be beneficial to you and your patient. One or more of the following may indicate the need for referral to the palliative care team:

• Metastatic or locally-advanced cancer progressing despite systemic treatments
• Metastatic disease with uncontrolled pain
• Declining ability to complete activities of daily living
• Failure of first – or second-line chemotherapy
• Multi-organ failure
• Multiple hospitalizations
• Difficult to control physical or emotional symptoms related to serious medical illness
• Patient, family or physician uncertainty regarding goals of care
• Patient or family requests for futile care
• Patient, family or any other physician request for information on palliative care
• Family caregiver request for guidance to manage patient’s care at home
• Patient or family psychological or spiritual distress
• Patient wanting to stop all treatment and needing continuing care at home