Specialist palliative care teams and characteristics related to referral rate: a national cross-sectional survey among hospitals in the Netherlands.
Manon S BoddaertA StoppelenburgJ HasselaarY M van der LindenK C P VissersN J H RaijmakersL BromPublished in: BMC palliative care (2021)
In the Netherlands, palliative care programmes and specialist palliative care teams in hospitals vary in their level of integration and development, with more mature teams showing higher referral rates. Appropriate staffing, dedicated outpatient clinics, education and research appear means to improve service penetration and timing of referral for patients with advanced diseases.