I entered my Palliative Care and Hospice Fellowship in July of 2014, having previously weighed the benefits and burdens of grandfathering in vs. fellowship training. Encouraged by colleagues and my employer I hoped to pursue an experience that would be richer than on the job training and book learning. I did my research before applying … Read moreA Fellowship Does Matter
My Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Chris Hughes, and I have been discussing leadership and communication, as we promote the development of effective behavior in ourselves and in our staff. During a recent chat about one tome on the subject, “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, Dr. Hughes succinctly summarized … Read moreAre You a Leader or a Jerk?
Dear Education Colleagues, Are you familiar with all the ICD-10 changes coming your way? Are you certain exactly where to find morphology codes? What has the 8-week rule regarding initial and subsequent MIs changed to? How does laterality effect your coding? How will you correctly code for symptom treatment? What about the management of terminal … Read moreICD-10 Program Focusing on Hospice and Palliative Care
Larry Beresford, freelance medical journalist in Alameda, CA (Twitter: @larryberesford) The Institute of Medicine’s landmark new report, Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life, developed with the active participation of several AAHPM leaders in an exhaustive, 2-year process of evidence-based deliberation, was released on September 17. It contains … Read moreCall for Action: The IOM Report
By Gregg VandeKieft, MD MA FAAFP FAAHPM Co-chair, AAHPM Public Policy Committee The following is part of a three-post progressive blog about advance care planning, prompted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) decision not to pay for the new “complex” advance care planning codes in this year’s Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Now is … Read moreOrganizational Advocacy Key to Promoting Advance Care Planning… Now it’s Time for Individuals to Make Their Voices Heard!
Recently, I attended the yearly National Seminar given by the Center to Advance Palliative Care. I was honored to be a member of the faculty and on the planning committee. The attendance was over 900- up over 50% from a year ago- a tribute both to the growth of palliative care as a discipline and … Read moreIntegrating with Palliative Care- Opportunities and Challenges
A recent morning brought the news that 29 year-old Brittany Maynard had ended her life rather than continue what she perceived to be intolerable suffering from an incurable brain tumor. About an hour later I watched a sports report on college freshman, Lauren Hall who the previous day fulfilled her dream of playing in a … Read moreSuffering is in the Eyes of the Beholder
Discussion around spirituality and religion are more evident and public in our academic circles and in our society in general. A good thing I believe. A stroll through my Twitter feeds this morning yielded an article about a legal challenge in New York State to the tax exempt status of a pagan group presumably in … Read moreSpirituality + Religion? Spirituality vs. Religion? Spirituality includes Religion?
For patients and their loved ones, no care decisions are more profound than those made near the end of life. For the millions of Americans who work in or with the health care sector—including clinicians, clergy, caregivers, and support staff—providing high-quality care for people who are nearing the end of life is a matter of … Read moreInsights on IOM’s Dying in America Report
Shaida Talebreza, MD HMDC Editor’s note: In the fall 2014 Quarterly Clinical Pearls Article “Goals-of-Care Discussions for Deprescribing,” Dr. Talebreza shares ways (and even a sample script) for healthcare providers to engage patients in decision making regarding medication deprescribing. The following is a tool, created by Dr. Talebreza, to help hospice professionals to determine the … Read moreHospice Deprescribing and Goals-of-Care Discussions