AAHPM Fall Quarterly 2011 : Page 9FALL 2011 9 Seventy-five percent of survey respondents felt that increasing funding for graduate medical education and faculty development in palliative care and hospice was essential, and more than half cited advancing a pallia-tive care training bill as key. AAHPM has been working closely with Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon to craft such a bill and is now seeking a potential cosponsor to help introduce the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act. This measure would establish a palliative care academic career award and create palliative care education centers through the US Health Resources and Services Administration. The highest rated public policy concern on AAHPM’s member survey was ensuring that palliative care and hospice are represented in emerging healthcare payment and delivery models, with more than 91% of respondents marking this as significant. With this in mind, I liken us to surfers, up early and the first to paddle out on a calm sea, waiting patiently on our boards. But it’s later now, and the sea is crowded, and a big wave is coming in. Are we positioned to catch it? Being here first does not nec-essarily guarantee our success. If our vigilance wanes, the wave could easily pass us by, propelling many of the late-comers to glory as we float again on an empty sea, alone and wondering what happened. The Public Policy Committee has a task force focused on this matter. The Emerging Payment/Delivery Models Working Group, chaired by Phil Rodgers, MD FAAHPM, remains abreast of developing federal initiatives, including those related to accountable care organizations (ACOs) and the patient-centered medical home. Their charge is to advocate for palliative care and hospice care to be rec-ognized and included in the laws and regulations defin-ing these new models — to make sure that we catch this particular wave. (See the summer 2011 issue of the Quar-terly for an overview of the Academy’s comments to CMS regarding the proposed rule defining ACOs.) the face of prescription drug monitoring programs are two key issues followed by this group. In October, Dr. VandeKieft and I will represent AAHPM at the annual meeting of the State Hospice Organization Executives Roundtable. We will make a presentation and investi-gate opportunities to collaborate on state-level advocacy efforts. But, next on the agenda is the Academy’s Capitol Hill Days—a fly-in to Washington, DC, that will provide an opportunity for participating AAHPM members to liaise with members of Congress and other federal officials to champion the Academy’s priorities. They’ll be looking to catch the healthcare reform wave and advance our spe-cialty by having our core principles incorporated in pub-lic policy. In the interest of space—it is a fly-in, after all— we’ve asked them to leave their surfboards at home. Stephen A. Leedy, MD FAAHPM, is chair of AAHPM’s Public Policy Committee. Contact him at sleedy@tidewell.org. Academic Palliative Medicine Physicians The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham & Women’s Hospital Adult Palliative Care Service , a joint program of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, seeks a physician with advanced training in Palliative Medicine to join our interdisciplinary team. This exciting position includes clinical service, teaching, and program development for an expanding inpatient consult service, an established inpatient palliative care unit and a growing outpatient program. The successful candidate will have a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School and clinical privileges at both DFCI and BWH. Academic title and compensation will be consistent with experience and Hospital policies. Requirements include: h Board certification in internal medicine or one of its sub-specialties or family medicine; h BC/BE in Hospice and Palliative Medicine; h Palliative Medicine Fellowship training. Clinical Job Description: Physician members of the Palliative Care Service serve as attendings who provide direct patient care to oncology and non-oncology patients, and supervise our palliative care fellows, fellows from other disciplines, residents, physician assistants, and students who are caring for patients in inpatient and outpatient sites. Attending physicians also collaborate with our Palliative Care Nurse Practitioners, and work closely with our expert palliative care team social workers, clinical pharmacists, chaplain, and psycho-oncology colleagues. Opportunities to focus academic effort and growth are available in education, research, and/or administration. Intensive mentorship in each of these areas is available. Administrative activities may include: Operational planning, development of processes of patient care, development of symptom management guidelines, and development of quality improvement initiatives in palliative care. Educational activities include: Participation in extensive formal and informal teaching activities at BWH, DFCI, and the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care. Teaching duties include supervision, training, and evaluation of: fellows in palliative care, pain/anesthesia, psychiatry, geriatrics, and gynecologic and surgical oncology; residents; physician assistants; medical students; and other clinicians rotating on the Adult Palliative Care Service. Research Activities: Outstanding research opportunities are available throughout DFCI, BWH and the HMS community. Faculty are encouraged but not required to participate in research activities internally within the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care or through external collaborations. Address inquiries to: Susan Block, MD, Chair, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, DFCI, 450 Brookline Ave, SW411, Boston, MA 02215 Or email to: lkcarberry@partners.org Website: http://www.dana-farber.org/Adult-Care/Treatment-and-Support/Treatment-Centers-and-Clinical-Services/Pain-Management-and-Palliative-Care.aspx State-Level Advocacy Of course, state-level policy developments are increas-ingly impacting members and their patients, so it is no surprise that half of the member survey respondents said they would appreciate resources to tackle these issues. The Public Policy Committee has established a State Pol-icy Issues Working Group, chaired by Gregg VandeKieft, MD MA FAAHPM, to help identify areas of synergy across states so that best practices can be shared or advocacy efforts combined. Defending the Medicaid Hospice Ben-efit and ensuring ongoing patient access to opioids in VOL. 12 Publication List Using a screen reader? Click Here |
