ACGME Approves Accreditation Process for Hospice and Palliatve Medicine Fellowship Training

Applications to Be Accepted as of Summer 2007

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has voted to approve an accreditation process for hospice and palliative medicine fellowship training programs.

This is the latest in recent announcements regarding the advancement of the field. Currently, there are 2,145 physicians who have become certified in hospice and palliative medicine by the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (ABHPM), and out of an estimated 60 hospice and palliative medicine fellowship programs, 29 have become accredited by ABHPM’s Palliative Medicine Residency Review Committee (PMRC).

The anticipated timeline for the ACGME to begin accepting applications is summer 2007. Until then, the next steps are for ACGME (1) to adopt hospice and palliative medicine program requirements (2) develop a hospice and palliative medicine Program Information Form (PIF) and, (3) develop the review process. It is anticipated that the ACGME requirements and PIF will be closely based on those used by the PMRC.

The palliative care field expects another significant boost when, this September, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) votes on the recognition of hospice and palliative medicine as a subspecialty. It is expected that 8-10 primary boards will sponsor hospice and palliative medicine as a subspecialty – a first for ABMS,

Information excerpted from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) e-News. For a complete list of palliative medicine fellowship programs, visit the AAHPM Web site at www.aahpm.org, click on the Fellowship Program Directory link.

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The Palliative Care Leadership Center initiative is funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with technical assistance provided by the Center to Advance Palliative Care. Based in Princeton, NJ, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and healthcare in the United States. www.rwjf.org.

The Center to Advance Palliative Care, located at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (NY), is a national initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, providing hospitals and other healthcare settings with tools and technical assistance to develop hospital-based palliative care programs. www.capc.org.

CONTACT: Lisa Morgan, LDM Strategies, 212-924-6182 or [email protected].