Several studies have shown that the deployment of specialized palliative care teams (PCTs) in hospitals is associated with better outcomes for patients with advanced disease [
9]. Their involvement was found to improve patients’ quality of life [
10‐
12], their satisfaction with care [
12,
13] and communication about goals of care, resulting in less diagnostic testing and less use of inappropriate technology and intensive care [
14]. In a recent study Temel et al. found that patients with lung cancer receiving early palliative care had a better quality of life, received less aggressive treatment and had a longer survival compared to patients receiving usual care without palliative care involvement [
15]. Consultation of palliative care services for patients with advanced incurable disease may also influence health care costs, through its focus on assessing patients’ goals of care and providing treatments that are concordant with these goals. Several studies have demonstrated significant cost savings as a result of palliative care involvement [
13,
14,
16‐
18]. The largest group of patients who are referred to specialized palliative or end-of-life care services consists of patients with incurable cancer, in the Netherlands as well as in other countries [
19,
20]. However, the provision of palliative care to patients with advanced cancer often remains suboptimal. Informational, emotional and physical needs are frequently unmet among patients with incurable disease [
21‐
24]. Studies show that PCT consultation is only used for a minority of all patients with advanced disease, which suggests that this service is used sub-optimally [
25]. This might be due to a lack of awareness of the availability and potential contribution of this service among regular health care professionals. Furthermore, it is known that PCTs are often consulted late in the disease trajectory [
26]. There may also be barriers to consultation, such as the lack of referral criteria, and the view that the involvement of palliative care is a signal that the primary health care professionals have given up all hope for a patient [
27‐
29].