Developing a physicians' palliative care pain hotline in Maryland

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Palliative Care
• Pain Management

Background:

• Physicians often lack formal training in pain management and palliative care.
• There is a need for accessible, expert support for physicians facing complex pain cases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the creation and implementation of a novel physician-focused palliative care pain hotline.
• To report initial data on the utilization of this telephone consultation service.

Main Methods:

• Established a toll-free telephone consultation service connecting physicians with board-certified specialists in hospice and palliative medicine.
• Offered rapid (within 15 minutes) consultations to address physician inquiries regarding pain management.
• Collected data on service usage over the first 10 months of operation.

Main Results:

• The hotline successfully provided timely expert consultations to physicians.
• Initial data indicates physician engagement with the service for palliative care pain management challenges.
• The program represents a pioneering effort in providing specialized telephone support.

Conclusions:

• The physicians' palliative care pain hotline is a viable model for supporting clinicians.
• This service can help bridge the gap in formal training for pain and palliative care.
• The findings offer a blueprint for establishing similar support programs globally.