Specialist Palliative Care Referral Practices Among Oncologists, Cardiologists, Respirologists: A Comparison of National Survey Studies.

Context: Although patients with nonmalignant diseases have palliative care needs similar to those of cancer patients, they are less likely to receive specialist palliative care (SPC). Referral practices of oncologists, cardiologists, and respirologists could provide insight into reasons for this difference.

Objectives: We compared referral practices to SPC among cardiologists, respirologists, and oncologists, discerned from surveys (the Canadian Palliative Cardiology/Respirology/Oncology Surveys).