BACKGROUND: There is little research and no clear guidelines for clinicians to follow when instructing patients with advanced disease about driving. AIMS: To investigate current practice in providing advice to patients with advanced disease and identify areas of consensus or variation with the Australian driving guidelines.
METHODS: An online survey was distributed to Australian members of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM). Responses were analysed using descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: The survey was distributed to 322 ANZSPM members and received 92 responses (29% response rate). Most respondents were aware of the driving guidelines (76%) and about half of respondents had read the driving guidelines (55%). The majority of respondents had been asked to provide advice about driving to their patient or patient's caregiver (91%). Most respondents had asked a patient to stop driving (94%), but only 27% had reported a patient to the Driver Licensing Authority. Only 14% of respondents were in consensus with the guidelines in providing driving advice to a patient with asymptomatic brain metastases. Most doctors (64%) advise patients to temporarily refrain from driving post short acting oral morphine, with 4 hours (36%) being the most common time period for not driving.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first survey investigating the practice of Australian doctors in assessing fitness to drive of patients with advanced disease. It found wide variability in practice and substantial discordance with current driving guidelines.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Language: en
Keywords
automobile driving; cancer; opioid analgesic; pain; palliative care