Dr. Ira Byock believes hospice can heal its own dysfunction by holding providers and clinicians responsible for the care we provide and how we provide it. 

Physician Dr. Ira Byock is a voice for change in the hospice industry, and an advocate for quality end of life care. His many years of experience in hospice medicine, coupled with the compassion he has for people dealing with serious illness, have made him an industry leader in the U.S. According to his website (irabyock.org), he is “Founder of the Institute for Human Caring at Providence St. Joseph Health. Dr. Byock is Active Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Community & Family Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He served as Director of Palliative Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire from 2003 through July 2013. Dr. Byock has been involved in hospice and palliative care since 1978. His research has contributed to conceptual frameworks for the lived experience of illness that encompasses a continuum from suffering to wellbeing; related measures for subjective quality of life during illness; and effective life-completion counseling methods. From 1996 to 2006 he directed Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care, a national Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program that developed prototypes for concurrent palliative care of people with life-threatening conditions. He is a past president of the Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.”  

What Dr. Byock’s bio doesn’t describe is his caring heart. It drives his dedication to identifying the issues we face in the hospice industry and offering evidence-based, practical solutions. He wants the hospice silo of healthcare to correct its own path. Dr. Byock believes hospice can heal its own dysfunction by holding providers and clinicians responsible for the care we provide and how we provide it. His articles in STAT magazine and the Journal of Palliative Medicine describe actionable, practical solutions. Hospice practitioners of every discipline can learn from Dr. Byock.  

Connect with Dr. Byock at irabyock.org.

Find and purchase Dr. Byock’s books, including The Four Things That Matter Most, by clicking here. 

Read Dr. Byock’s STAT article Hospice Care Needs Saving here. 

Read Dr. Byock’s article Core Roles and Responsibilities of Physicians in Hospice Care: A Statement by and for U.S. Hospice and Palliative Care Physicians by clicking here.                                                                                      28 Apr 2023https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2023.0194

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Connect with The Heart of Hospice Podcast and host Helen Bauer

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More podcast episodes: The Heart of Hospice Podcast