Call for Nominations for Primary Palliative Care Improvement Expert Panel

I’m passing on this call for nominations from the American Board of Internal Medicine for an expert to serve on the Practice Improvement Module for Primary Palliative Care.  Please consider nominating someone, or yourself!

Call for Nominations

Primary Palliative Care PIM

The ABIM requests nominations to its Expert Panel for a new PIM (Practice Improvement Module) focusing on Primary Palliative Care.  PIMs are web-based tools that guide physicians through the collection of patient data to identify gaps in care and ultimately implement a quality-improvement plan for their practice.  CME credit is available for this PIM, and panel members will be listed publicly as faculty.  Disclosure of relevant financial relationships will be required.

This panel will be responsible for identifying or developing clinical measures that address important issues in primary palliative care for patients with multiple chronic conditions and functional impairment or with specific diagnoses such as solid tumors that are not amenable to treatment or non–transplant eligible end-stage renal or liver disease.  Topics include, but are not limited to, identification and treatment of pain, dyspnea, and other symptoms; goal setting with patients and family/caregivers; family/caregiver engagement and support; and appropriate and timely referrals to palliative specialty care and hospice.

The work will begin in late 2010 and will continue for approximately one year.  Two one-day meetings in Philadelphia will be scheduled, along with several two-hour conference calls.  The panel will include both generalist and subspecialist physicians.  Additionally, we seek allied-health workers with relevant expertise.  Desirable areas of expertise include clinical measurement, development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and/or performance measures, quality-improvement in the palliative care setting, and patient or family caregiver advocates.

Physicians who serve on this panel must be enrolled in the Maintenance of Certification program or hold a time-limited certificate in their specialty.  The ABIM is an equal-opportunity organization that strongly encourages nominations of women and minorities; more specifically, ABIM will accept nominations regardless of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national original, age, disability, sexual preference, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

Nominations will be accepted from both individuals and organizations, but all nominations must be of a specific individual.  Nominations must be received by November 15, 2010 and must include:

• A letter of nomination, addressing the nominee’s specific expertise
• A curriculum vitae
• A completed nomination form (email Rebecca below for form)
• A completed disclosure form (email Rebecca below for form)

by: Alex Smith

The above material should be sent to PIMnominations@abim.org; questions regarding the panel should be directed to Rebecca Baranowski (rbaranowski@abim.org).