I attended the NHPCO Conference and this year it was different. I’m a committed member of the tweeting subculture inspired by my twitter buddies after reading live commentary from sessions at the recent AAHPM conference in Canada.
The Journal of Pain and Symptom Management is pleased to announce a call for papers that report the results of Quality Improvement initiatives in palliative care. This publication of brief reports is a joint project of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Papers focusing on … Read moreJPSM Call for QI Papers Closes April 15
Last week, President Obama declared April 10-16 National Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 10-16, 2011). In the proclamation, he states: America’s story has been marked by the service of volunteers. Generations of selfless individuals from all walks of life have served each other and our Nation, each person dedicated to making tomorrow better than today. They … Read moreAppreciating Our Volunteers
I have always yearned for a Medicare Benefit for palliative care services, so it was with some excitement that I read an e-mail from MedPAC inviting me to a meeting in Washington March 23, to discuss palliative care. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is an independent Congressional agency established by the Balanced Budget Act … Read moreMedPAC meeting in Washington on Palliative Care
Medical Humanities has played an important role in my personal development as a physician and palliative medicine doctor. Reading stories, novels, poetry, listening to music, looking at art and movies and plays have helped teach me how to face suffering, how to sit with it, how to be curious about and wonder what will emerge … Read moreGetting ready for 2012 AAHPM bookclub: help us pick next year’s book
A Palliative Care Summit was recently convened in Philadelphia by the School of Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University. It was described as the “First National” and the “Leading Forum on Palliative and End-of-Life Care”. An impressive array of speakers over the two days. Diane Meier,MD, Sean Morrison, MD, Don Schumacher, David Wennberg, MD, Christine … Read more30/30/30 Campaign to Improve Late-Life Care
This past fall my husband had several hospitalizations, culminating with the planned re-admission for surgery which we thought would pretty much clear up his recent problems. The day of surgery, we had no clue that his surgery would take over 7 hours, and end in him being placed in the ICU. But even then, I was positive that it was just overnight after a prolonged aesthetic. It wasn’t, it was the start of a two week nightmare that found me floundering. While I work a a very large Academic Medical center, Palliative Medicine is still in its infancy. So our Service consists of me and my NP( and of course SW and Pastoral Care). At the end of the first week, knowing my husband’s feeling about life prolonging care, I began to get concerned about who would I look to, if I needed advocacy as the patient’s wife? I called Pal 4 Med. I don’t recall the name of the doctor who spoke to me, listened to me cry, and provided both solace and suggestions, but she was great! And she called back several days later, too. I was able to think more clearly and make some plans. I even was able to suck up the courage to take my boards . Yes, he was still on the vent on Nov 16th, when the exam were administered, and my brain was Swiss cheese, but the testing center was only 2 miles from the hospital and my sons stayed with him, while, I played with the computer.
Attending the 2011 AAHPM &HPNA Annual Assembly in Vancouver February 16-19, 2011 was a wonderful experience for me. It would have been impossible without the support from AAHPM for physicians like me who are working in developing countries. I got the opportunity learn new clinical and scientific knowledge of palliative care by attending different sessions … Read moreA Developing Countries Scholar’s Perspective on the 2011 Assembly
We [the CMS] believe the role of the physician within hospices has been undervalued, and we would like to see the physician’s participation increase in the care of long-stay patients. That’s one of the messages to take away from the CMS regulation mandating physician (or nurse practitioner) face-to-face encounters to certify a patient’s continued hospice … Read moreHow Often Should Patients with Advanced Illness Be Visited By a Physician?
Creative methods in Storyteaching, by Karen Bell, RN, Nancy Boutin, MD Storyteaching is storytelling with a twist. Both are learned skills, as was aptly demonstrated by two gifted storytellers/teachers. There is one essential and several important structural hints, but the essential issue is setting; that is, a safe place where stories of immense personal importance … Read moreStoryteaching as a way to enhance mutual understanding