|
| JCAHO Palliative Care Certification Standards to be Finalized Mid-June 2008 |
 |
|
The Joint Commission has announced that its new Palliative Care Certification
Standards will be finalized mid-June 2008,
pending review by the Board of Commissioners. The
final Palliative Care Certification Standards have
already been presented to The Joint Commission's
Standards and Survey Procedures (SSP) Committee
and were recommended for approval.
To learn more, click here
|
| NPCRC Awards $770,000 in Palliative Care Research Grants |
 |
|
The National Palliative
Care Research Center (NPCRC) awarded
$770,000 in research grants for studies aimed at
improving quality of life and eliminating suffering for
seriously ill patients and their family caregivers. The
NPCRC, in partnership with the American Cancer
Society (ACS), has directed over $3 million towards
supporting palliative care research over the past 2
years.
The 2008 grantees:
Pilot Project Support Grant Recipients
University of California, San Francisco, Kathleen
Puntillo, DNSc, RN
Indiana University School of Medicine, Greg A. Sachs,
MD
Junior Faculty Career Development Award
Recipients
University of California, San Francisco, Wendy G.
Anderson, MD, MS
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Elisabeth
Potts Dellon, MD, MPH
Northwestern University, Joseph Shega, MD
To learn more, click here
|
| BMJ Poll Shows that Palliative Care is Where Doctors Can Make the Greatest Difference |
 |
|
The British Medical
Journal reported that palliative care for
non-malignant disease has been voted the area of
health care in which doctors can make the greatest
difference to patient care.
More than 4,000 people from around the world voted
in the BMJ Making a Difference poll to find the area of
health care in which doctors can make the most
improvement to the quality of
patient care.
Palliative care beyond cancer beat six other topics
including drug resistant infections in poor countries,
excessive drinking in young women, and improving
chronic pain management.
Despite the strong competition, palliative care was the
undisputed winner with 1,549 votes. Combating drug
resistant infections in poor countries was second with
869 votes, and better care for the elderly with multiple
health problems took third place with 681 votes.
To learn more, visit
www.bmj.com/makingadifference
|
| Chaplaincy Added as New Topic Area of CAPCconnectSM Discussion Forum |
 |
|
The CAPCconnectSM Forum — the only forum
dedicated to palliative care program growth and
development — has just added a new
discussion topic: Chaplaincy in
Palliative Care Settings. The
CAPCconnectSM palliative care
discussion forum is a free resource for health care
professionals who want to share information,
exchange ideas, and get advice from colleagues on
issues affecting their palliative care programs. As with
all topic areas, the new chaplaincy section will be fully
moderated.
To register or login, go to
www.capc.org/forums
|
| Dartmouth Atlas Update Now Available Online |
 |
|
The
Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care online database
for individual hospital benchmarking has been
updated (2005 data) and is now available for use.
To learn more, click here
|
| AHA Circle of Life Call for Nominations |
 |
|
The American Hospital
Association (AHA) Circle of Life Award:
Celebrating Innovation in Palliative and End-of-Life
Care is presented annually to honor organizations
striving to improve end-of-life care. Awards and
citations will be presented at the 2009 American
Hospital Association Health Forum Summit in San
Francisco.
To nominate an organization or program, please visit
the AHA website or e-mail
circleoflife@aha.org. Application deadline is
August 8, 2008.
|
| AHRQ Call for Healthcare Innovations |
 |
|
In April 2008, the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ)
launched the Health Care Innovations Exchange
program - an initiative dedicated to helping health
care professionals share and adopt innovations that
improve the delivery of care to patients. The AHRQ is
calling for innovation submissions for potential
inclusion in the Health Care Innovations Exchange.
Please direct any questions to the AHRQ at
info@innovations.ahrq.gov.
To learn more and submit an innovation,
click here
|
| Articles of Interest |
 |
|
Albany Times Union, May 25, 2008, Palliative care needed for Alzheimer's
patients, by Michael C. Brannigan
Medical News Today, April 25, 2008, Palliative care is the area of health care in
which doctors can make the greatest difference to
their patients
Cure, Spring 2008, The new specialty in cancer
care, by Joanne Kenen
The Denver Post, March 25, 2008.
Patients and families consider palliative care, by
Katy Human
|
| CAPC e-Learning Coming Soon |
 |
|
CAPC Campus OnlineSM is the
palliative care e-learning space where you can learn
at your own pace — anywhere, anytime!
Courses cover
the structural, operational and financial essentials of
palliative care program growth and sustainability.
Topics include Strategic Planning, Hospital Cost
Avoidance, Billing and Coding, Philanthropy, Updating
Your Business Plan and more! All CAPC Campus
OnlineSM courses offer CME and CEU
credits for physicians, nurses and social workers.
More information coming soon!
|
| Become Certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) Before 2013! |
 |
|
If you want to get certified, now is the time.
There are only three opportunities for non-fellowship
trained palliative care physicians to take the
certification exam: 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Please note that starting in 2013, you must be
fellowship trained in order to sit for the exam.
To learn more and register, visit
http://www.abim.org/exam/cert/hospice.aspx
|
| PCLC 2008 Training Dates |
 |
|
Take advantage of intensive, tailored training and
yearlong mentoring at Palliative Care Leadership
CentersSM (PCLC). Choose your
setting from any one of six exemplary palliative care
programs. Enroll today
to jump-start your program and
secure your success!
To learn more about PCLC and which program is right
for you, click
here.
We encourage you to register soon, while
sessions are still available. CME credits are
available
for physicians.
Fairview Health System -
Minneapolis, MN
August 20-22
October 22-24
Medical College of
Wisconsin - Milwaukee, WI
June 25-27
Mount Carmel Health
System - Columbus, OH
September 11-12
November 6-7
Palliative Care Center of the
Bluegrass - Lexington, KY
June 11-13
August 13-15
September 24-26
October 1-3
November 5-7
University of California, San
Francisco - San
Francisco, CA
June 5-6
VCU Massey Cancer
Center - Richmond, VA
September 15-16
November 10-11
To learn more and register, visit www.capc.org/pclc
|
| Upcoming CAPC Audio Conferences |
 |
|
Palliative Care
in the ICU: Closing the Gap between Current
Knowledge and Clinical Practice
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
1:30 - 2:30 PM Eastern
Featured Speaker:
Judith E. Nelson, MD, JD
Professor of Medicine
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York, NY
To learn more and register, click here
APN Billing for Palliative
Care Services
Thursday, July 31, 2008
1:30 - 2:30 PM Eastern
Featured Speaker:
Constance Dahlin, APRN, BC, ACHPN
Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner
Palliative Care Service
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA
This event is co-sponsored by the Hospice and
Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA).
To learn more and register, click here
|
|
|