Fall 2019

Featured

Feature

High-Tech Health

New Technological Approaches Are Transforming the Delivery of High-Touch Palliative Care By Larry Beresford Information technology is evolving rapidly in health care. Hospice and palliative medicine clinicians may feel dizzy contemplating the many advances in predictive modeling, artificial intelligence, machine...

In this Issue

President's Message

Promoting Healthy Discourse Within Our Academy

During the ongoing process of strategic planning, we have been trying to elicit as many perspectives as possible from our members and external partners. It seems we have been engaging more folks than ever before! As president, this has been...

Clinical Pearls

The Itch to Cure: Managing Pruritis

Lindsay Haines, MD, and Niharika Ganta, MD MPH Background When severe, pruritis—ie, itch—results in significant distress and poor quality of life.1 Pruritis is poorly understood and can be difficult to manage. Unfortunately, the “go-to” remedies often are inadequate and ineffective...

Art of Caring

Plump Yellow Roses

Uzma Khan, MD As I stroked the browning edges of the yellow rose, death’s inevitability was tangible. Plump yellow roses decay slowly in the vase as I sleep by them. Until their end, I will enjoy them on my nightstand....

Annual Assembly

The Annual Assembly

Plenary Sessions These shared learning experiences are designed to broaden your thinking and inspire thought-provoking conversations. Quiet: How to Harness the Strengths of Introverts to Transform How We Work, Lead, and Innovate Susan Cain is the author of the bestseller...

Advocacy Update

AAHPM Offers Leadership at the AMA: a Report from the 2019 Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates

Jacqueline M. Kocinski, MPP “Together we are not just stronger. When we join hands, and speak up for our patients, we are unstoppable.” With those words, Barbara L. McAneny, MD, outgoing president of the American Medical Association (AMA), addressed the...

Pathways to Palliative Care

Dr. Jessica McFarlin: From Neurology to Palliative Care

Marcin Chwistek, MD FAAHPM “Don’t pick. Do both! We need people who can do both” is what Jessica McFarlin, MD, heard from her friends and mentors near the end of her neurology residency at Duke University. She was considering adding...

Diversity Equity & Inclusion

Your New Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Strategic Plan

Kemi Ani In 2013, AAHPM formed a Diversity Advisory Group to create a strategic plan to guide efforts for increasing the Academy’s commitment to diversity and inclusion both within the organization and in the broader field of hospice and palliative...

Quality Improvement

AAHPM’s E-Learning Strategy—Survey Says…

As AAHPM develops an e-learning strategy, members and customers were asked to share some of their preferences. Here’s what we learned from the survey that was conducted in the spring: Pain Management, 16.53% Disease Progression and Prognostication, 8.82% Hospice Medical...

HMDCB Update

Celebrating New Leadership, Tremendous Growth, and an Exciting New Offering

New Board Member/Officers Announced The Hospice Medical Director Certification Board (HMDCB) is pleased to announce its new board member and president-elect, who were approved by the organization’s Nominating Committee in early 2019. Tommie Farrell, MD HMDC, a hospice physician at...

AAHPM News

Congratulations, Hearst AAHPM Leadership Scholars

In December 2017, AAHPM was awarded a $125,000 grant from the Hearst Foundations to support a multiyear AAHPM leadership scholars program. The Hearst AAHPM Leadership Scholars Fund was designed to increase the number of qualified hospice and palliative medicine physicians...

State of the Science

AAHPM’s First Research Symposium Focuses on Collaboration, Capacity, and Commitment

AAHPM, along with 10 supporting partner organizations, will host a new research symposium: State of the Science in Hospice and Palliative Care, the first meeting created by and for researchers in hospice and palliative care. The meeting is scheduled for...

Quarterly Progress Report

AAHPM Points of Progress

More than 30 committees and task forces representing the efforts and expertise of hundreds of Academy members have made significant progress toward implementing AAHPM’s goals. This progress report highlights accomplishments within each goal area of the strategic plan during the...