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). METHODS: Descriptive 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). RESULTS: The 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