• Michael Bonares, Lisa W Le, Camilla Zimmermann, and Kristen Wentlandt.
• Division of Palliative Medicine (M.B.), Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Division of Palliative Medicine (M.B., C.Z.), Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: michael.bonares@mail.utoronto.ca.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2023 Jul 1; 66 (1): e1e34e1-e34.

ContextAlthough 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.ObjectivesWe compared referral practices to SPC among cardiologists, respirologists, and oncologists, discerned from surveys (the Canadian Palliative Cardiology/Respirology/Oncology Surveys).MethodsDescriptive comparison of survey studies; multivariable linear regression analysis of association between specialty and referral frequency. Surveys for each specialty were disseminated to physicians across Canada in 2010 (oncologists) and 2018 (cardiologists, respirologists).ResultsThe combined response rate of the surveys was 60.9% (1568/2574): 603 oncologists, 534 cardiologists, and 431 respirologists. Perceived availability of SPC services was higher for cancer than for noncancer patients. Oncologists were more likely to make a referral to SPC for a symptomatic patient with a prognosis of ConclusionFor cardiologists and respirologists in 2018, perceived availability of SPC services was poorer, timing of referral later, and frequency of referral lower than among oncologists in 2010. Further research is needed to identify reasons for differences in referral practices and to develop interventions to overcome them.Copyright © 2023 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

17 keywords...

hide…