What the PSMPC referral is for
BC Cancer’s Pain and Symptom Management/Palliative Care service sees cancer patients who live in BC or the Yukon and have cancer-related pain or symptoms. A PSMPC nurse or physician triages each referral. If it isn’t appropriate, you are told. If it is, the service contacts the patient directly with the appointment, and the form suggests asking the patient to tell you once they hear. It is separate from enrolling the patient in BC Palliative Care Benefits, which is its own form.
Who completes it
The referring physician or nurse practitioner completes page 1. The patient doesn’t complete any part. Page 2 has booking instructions and centre contacts, and the form says to print and submit page 1.
How to fill in the referral
Referral type and date
Choose referral, or re-referral if the patient was last seen by PSMPC more than six months ago. Enter the date of referral.
Patient Information
This section must be completed. Give the patient’s name, gender, date of birth, PHN, BC Cancer number if known, address and phone numbers, and another contact with their relationship.
Referral Information
This section must be completed too. Give the diagnosis, your name, role, phone and fax or your stamp, and the oncologist and facility. Under reason for referral, give enough for triage: the symptoms, their severity and how they affect daily life. The question on treatments already tried is required, so list medications with doses and other measures. Answer the yes or no questions about advance care plan, DNR, BC Palliative Benefits, home care or hospice involvement with the health unit, and whether the oncologist, patient and family know about the referral.
Attachments
For external referrals, or if the patient hasn’t been seen at BC Cancer, include all supporting documents: consult and clinic notes, imaging, lab, procedure and pathology reports.
Common reasons it isn’t processed
- Required sections left blank, especially treatments already tried.
- No supporting reports for a patient new to BC Cancer.
- No BC Cancer Patient Referral for a patient not seen there before.
- A hospital inpatient referred instead of consulting the inpatient service.
- An urgent need sent by fax without a phone call.
Submitting and who pays
Fax page 1 and the reports to the PSMPC team at the BC Cancer centre you are referring to, with a cover page stating the number of pages and a confidentiality warning. Referral is part of insured care, so there is no form fee.