Review the Purpose of the Serious Illness Conversation
In this online learning activity, Dr. Mary Beth Billie interviews Dr. Keith Veselik, a primary care physician and Chief Medical Officer for Population Health at Loyola Medicine, about serious illness communications.
Dr. Veselik shares his experiences and insights on conducting value-based conversations with patients, emphasizing the importance of primary care physicians initiating these discussions early. He discusses the evolution of his approach over his 30-year career and highlights the significance of understanding patient values, their last chapter wishes, and incorporating functional status into care planning. Dr. Veselik also recounts personal experiences, both successes and challenges, in managing end-of-life care and underscores the critical role of a multidisciplinary team in supporting patients and easing the burden on families.
Total Time: 16 minutes
Evaluation
Objectives
At the conclusion of this learning activity, the participant will be able to state the purpose of a serious illness conversation.
Audience
The course is intended for providers, nurses, social workers, advanced practice providers, medical assistants, community health workers and other care team members who are seeking to expand their knowledge and skills.
Faculty
Mary Beth Billie, DNP, RN-BC, CCMMary Beth Billie is a registered nurse with several years of experience developing and managing utilization, case, disease and population health programs in provider and payer organizations. Mary Beth is certified in Case Management from both the CCMC and the AACN. She is an adjunct faculty member in the nursing programs at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois and Elmhurst University in Elmhurst, Illinois.
She received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Loyola University Niehoff School of Nursing. Her Capstone project was implementing a Serious Illness (SI) educational program and Serious Illness Protocol for nurse and social worker case managers in an Accountable Care Organization. Her Serious Illness project was published in the Professional Case Management Journal (Billie and Letizia, 2020).
Mary Beth is a sought-after National Speaker on this important topic presenting her Serious Illness program at the National Case Management, the National Ambulatory Care, and the Center to Advance Palliative Care Conferences. She teaches her Serious Illness Communication course to health care professionals including nurses, social workers, nursing students and physicians across the country.
Her most recent position was the Regional Executive Director of Population Heath at Loyola University Health System in Maywood Illinois where she developed and implemented care coordination and quality management programs for Loyola’s Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization. Mary Beth previously held leadership positions at Blue Cross of Illinois and United Health Care where she was responsible for National Care Management and Population Health programs.
Cost
FREE for members; FREE for non-members
This training is made available through funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Continuing Education Credits
Continuing Education Credit Available: Providers & Nurses
Session Contact Hours: 0.25
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: No one with the ability to control content of this activity has a relevant financial relationship with an ineligible company.
Successful Course completion includes:
- Participate in the full course.
- Complete the course evaluation to obtain continuing education credits.