Palliative care in hematologic oncology: A needs assessment.

137Background: As patients with hematologic malignancies further enter the scope of practice for palliative medicine physicians, it is important to have an accurate view of their needs. Historically, there is a paucity of research examining symptom burden in this cohort. Even fewer studies explore the experience and perceptions of frontline hematology providers. As our Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine team at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) embarked upon a collaborative Supportive Care model on our hospital’s dedicated Leukemia and Bone Marrow units, it was important to gain insight from providers about this population. Methods: We conducted a supportive care needs assessment survey of the staff (faculty, fellows, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, and case management) from the Leukemia and Bone Marrow units. The survey encompassed eighteen domains and attempted to assess their prevalence in patients according to the Hematology team. It included symptom burden, social and functional com...