Ira Byock is a leading palliative care physician and public advocate for improving care through the end of life.

Short Bio

 

Ira Byock is a leading palliative care physician and public advocate for improving care through the end of life.


Transforming care through the end of life

Byock’s first book, Dying Well, (1997) has become a standard in the field of hospice and palliative care. The Four Things That Matter Most, (2004) is used as a counseling tool widely by palliative care and hospice programs, as well as within pastoral care. His most recent book, The Best Care Possible tackles the crisis that surrounds serious illness and dying in America and his quest to transform care through the end of life. It has been praised by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist and other major publications, and won the Annual Books for a Better Life Award in the category of Wellness.


Transforming care through the end of life

Byock’s first book, Dying Well, (1997) has become a standard in the field of hospice and palliative care. The Four Things That Matter Most, (2004) is used as a counseling tool widely by palliative care and hospice programs, as well as within pastoral care. His most recent book, The Best Care Possible tackles the crisis that surrounds serious illness and dying in America and his quest to transform care through the end of life. It has been praised by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist and other major publications, and won the Annual Books for a Better Life Award in the category of Wellness.



Providence Institute for Human Caring

Providence Health & Services established the Providence Institute for Human Caring and attracted national expert and advocate, Dr. Ira Byock, to lead its formation. The institute represents a major commitment by Providence to accelerate value-based and whole-person health care for frail elders, seriously ill or otherwise vulnerable patients and their families.

Praise from colleagues


Recent articles and op-eds

Core Roles and Responsibilities of Physicians in Hospice Care

A Statement by and for U.S. Hospice and Palliative Care Physicians

Ira Byock, MD, FAAHPM 
Journal of Palliative Medicine,  May 2023
Physicians are integral members of hospice interdisciplinary teams (IDTs). This statement delineates the core roles and responsibilities of hospice medical directors (HMDs) and hospice physicians who are designated by the hospice program to fulfill core HMD responsibilities. In addition, we describe the basic elements of hospice programs’ structure and function required for hospice physicians to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. Finally, we call attention to hospice program characteristics and circumstances of the work environment that should raise a hospice physician’s concerns that hospice patients and families are at risk of receiving low-quality care. 

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Hospice Needs Saving

Ira Byock, MD, FAAHPM 
StatNews, December 14, 2022 
Hospice in America is gravely ill. An extensive investigation jointly published by The New Yorker and ProPublica documented outright fraud, predatory practices, and flagrant mistreatment by specific publicly traded and private equity-owned hospice companies.

Missoula-Vitas Quality of Life Index

 


Ira Byock, MD, and Melanie Merriman, PhD
Springer Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, May 2022
Improving quality Improving quality of life is a fundamental goal of palliative care. Meaningful, reliable measurement of quality of life is critical to assessing patient needs and meeting them. Data related to patients' quality of life are essential for clinical research and quality improvement efforts, as well as for assessing the value of palliative components of health services.
  

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Recent videos

Is Hospice Losing Its Way: A Podcast With Ira Byock and Joseph Shega 

In November of 2022, Ava Kofman published a piece in the New Yorker titled “How Hospice Became a For-Profit Hustle.”  Some viewed this piece as an affront to the amazing work hospice does for those approaching the end of their lives by cherry picking stories of a few bad actors to paint hospice is a bad light. For others, this piece, while painful to read, gave voice to what they have been feeling over the last decade – hospice has in some ways lost its way in a quest of promoting profit over care. 

On today’s podcast, live from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Annual Meeting (Montreal, Feb 2023), we invited two thought leaders in the field, Ira Byock and Joseph Shega for a frank discussion.

End of Life University

Ep. 387 How to Save Hospice with Ira Byock MD, January 23, 2023

Real Talk about Life and Death
Host: Dr. Karen Wyatt
Learn about some positive steps that are needed to heal the current hospice industry in the U.S. and how your story can make a difference.
We discuss his recent essay opinion piece published in STAT online: “Hospice Care Needs Saving,” which is a response to the November 2022 Propublica/New Yorker article How the Visionary Hospice Movement Became a For-Profit Hustle.

From Scratch - A Discussion on Loss with Dr. Ira Byock and Tembi Locke

The Institute for Human Caring, May 15, 2022

Dr. Ira Byock in conversation with Tembi Locke, actress and author, about Sicily and pesto, life and loss.

Winner of the Bronze Telly Award for 2022.

Caring Well through the End of Life - Lessons from the Pandemic

The Institute for Human Caring, April 14, 2022

Drs. Ira Byock and Matthew Gonzales deliver a presentation on how the Institute for Human Caring made healthcare more personal during the COVID pandemic.

A Conversation about Covid-19 and Life with Dr. Ira Byock

The Salome Institute of Jungian, April 16, 2020
In this conversation with Palliative Care pioneer and author, Dr. Ira Byock, we learn about the value of mortality and what we can do in this global health crisis to deepen our relationships and take care of some logistical loose ends. He is joined in conversation by his daughter, Salome Institute director, Satya Doyle Byock April 16th, 2020