J. Andrew Billings, MD

Director, Palliative Care Service
Massachusetts General Hospital
Associate Professor of Medicine
Co-Director, Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care

Founders 600, 55 Fruit Street
Boston, MA 02114-2696
Phone: 617.724.9197
Fax: 617.724.8693

Educational and professional experience:

Amherst College, B.A., 1967 Harvard Medical School, M.D., 1972
Straight Medical Intern, San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, 1972-1973
Medical Resident and Elective Fellowship in Psychosomatic Medicine, University of California,
San Francisco Hospitals, San Francisco, 1973-75
Fellow in Adult Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, 1975-1977
Staff Physician, MGH Chelsea Memorial Health Center, 1975-1995
Staff Physician at MGH, 1977-
Director, Palliative Care Service, MGH, 1995-present

 

Current teaching and research interests:

My teaching now focuses almost exclusively on end-of-life care and especially on communication issues.  After piloting a series of National Cancer Institute –sponsored Palliative Care Role Model programs, we created the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care with the sponsorship of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and now give our annual faculty development course, Palliative Care Education and Practice, and an annual review course, Practical Aspects of Palliative Care.  Meanwhile, I am working to expand palliative care at MGH, supporting special programs in advance care planning and the integration of palliative care in the ICU, and working with Partners Healthcare System to broaden the palliative care capabilities of our network.