So what exactly does a hospice medical director do?  Why do some choose to become hospice physicians?  What additional training is needed, if any, beyond Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship and boards?  Who should take the new Hospice Medical Director Certification Board Examination?  A recent study in JAGS found high rates of hospice disenrollment (“live discharge”) for people with dementia - is that a good thing or a bad thing?  Hmmm…

We address these and other questions in this week’s podcast with Tommie Farrell, hospice physician in West Texas and Chair of the Hospice Medical Director Certification Board, and Kai Romero, Chief Medical Officer for Hospice By the Bay (that’s San Francisco Bay).

And I get a re-do attempt at REM’s “Everybody Hurts!”. Apologies for the first attempt!  

-@AlexSmithMD