Summer 2026
Featured
Feature
Keeping Fentanyl in the Palliative Care Clinician’s Pain Management Toolbox
While illicit fentanyl has fueled the nation’s overdose epidemic, hospice and palliative care experts stress that prescription fentanyl remains a vital tool for managing severe pain in patients with serious illness. As public fears, stigma, and prescribing barriers increasingly affect access to opioid therapy, clinicians are working to distinguish illicit fentanyl from medical fentanyl through education, nuanced risk assessment, harm reduction strategies, and evidence-based prescribing that prioritizes patient comfort and quality of life.
In this Issue
A Message from the President
Building a Stronger Future for Hospice and Palliative Care
As we move through the summer months, I’d like to highlight four important updates that reflect the Academy’s continued commitment to supporting your work, strengthening our field, and upholding the values we share.
Art of Caring
The Practice of Noticing Joy
As summer invites us to slow down and savor the season, it also offers opportunities to notice small moments of beauty, connection, and renewal.
Advocacy Update
Going with the Flow: One Palliative Care Physician’s Experience Navigating Both Policy and Practice
Columbus—my home these last 20 years—sits on the high bank where the Olentangy River joins the Scioto. And for the last 3 years, I have been working at a confluence within the confluence: community-based palliative care, the Ohio Department of Medicaid, and benefit design for...
Roadblocks
Palliative Radiation: A Question of Benefit, Burden, and Time
Sage is a 58-year-old woman with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer complicated by diffuse bone metastases, progressive weight loss, and declining functional status. Over the prior 2 months, she had transitioned from walking independently to spending most of the day in bed.
DEI LAB
Meet the 2025-2027 AAHPM Next Gen Scholars
The AAHPM Next Gen Scholars for Equity in Hospice and Palliative Medicine program sponsors clinicians in training from underrepresented communities who are interested in hospice and palliative medicine (HPM). Data suggest that a lack of culturally effective HPM services in...
Quarterly Progress Report
AAHPM Points of Progress
Read updates from Q2 2026 relevant to the Academy's four strategic goals: advance the field, support professional success, build a vibrant community, and ensure a strong organization.
AAHPM Partner Updates
HMDCB Update
Highlight your knowledge as a hospice physician and join the HMDCB community by earning your HMDC credential this year! Don’t put your aspirations on hold. Sign up by 11:59 pm CT, July 31, to sit for the 2026 HMDCB initial exam.
AAHPM News
AAHPM News
Updated Essential series now available; 2026 Annual Assembly recap; congrats, podium and poster abstract awardees; congratulations to new special interest groups and forums leaders; welcome, new PC-FACS editors; honoring a lasting legacy: Dr. C. Porter Storey Jr.