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Hospice Super Forum (2026)
AAHPM and HMDCB are pleased to present the third annual Hospice Super Forum.
This continuing medical education activity is designed to improve hospice clinicians’ ability to apply key regulatory and clinical principles to optimize patient care. This event will explore three timely and highly relevant topics shaping hospice practice today. Participants will gain practical insights into certification and recertification, with special emphasis on audits, documentation expectations, and prognostication in relation to today’s AI-driven regulatory environment. The program will also feature a session on advanced symptom management in the home setting, focusing on strategies to address informal caregiver burden, manage complex medications safely, and navigate communication gaps among the care team. Finally, learners will examine the evolving role of buprenorphine in hospice care. Faculty will discuss clinical considerations, patient selection, and practical applications of buprenorphine therapy in end-of-life care, helping attendees build confidence in incorporating this medication into hospice practice when appropriate. Together, these sessions are designed to provide actionable knowledge that clinicians can immediately apply to improve regulatory readiness, strengthen clinical decision-making, and enhance the quality of care delivered to patients and families.
| Session Oder | Session | Faculty |
|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | Certification and Recertification in an AI-driven Regulatory Environment | Balu Natarajan, MD HMDC |
| Session 2 | Preventing Complexity from Becoming Crisis: Advanced Symptom Management at Home | Carrie Hempel-Sanderoff, DO HMDC |
| Session 3 | Buprenorphine in Hospice: When, Where, Why and How | Kyle Neale, DO |
Pricing
Register by Monday, October 26 and you will have the option for pizza to be delivered right to your door! This is not applicable to international registrants.
AAHPM Members: $300
Nonmembers: $425
*Current HPM Fellows: can enjoy a 20% discount off member and nonmember rates with a discount code.
*HMDCB Certificants: if you are not a member of the Academy but are HMDCB certified, you can receive the member rate with a discount code.
*To receive either discount code, please contact Member Services at 847.375.6740 or email [email protected].
This forum is a live event only. It is anticipated that the recording of this forum will be available for purchase at a future date pending the recording quality supports optimal on-demand learning. In the event of an on-demand learning course, paid attendees will receive complimentary access to the enduring materials.
Target Audience
Hospice physicians, medical directors, advanced practice health professionals, fellows, nurses, and interdisciplinary team members (e.g., social workers, chaplains, program leaders) across academic and community-based settings.
Learning Outcomes
1. Articulate LCD guidelines and how they contribute to the construction of CTI Statements, as well as describe elements of a robust recertification CTI statement.
2. Utilize evidence-informed approaches to improve comfort, support caregivers, and address challenging clinical situations that arise in home-based hospice care.
3. Apply evidence-based strategies for initiating and managing buprenorphine in hospice patients with complex pain and comorbid conditions.
Activity summary
- 3.75 ABIM MOC
- 3.75 CME (physician only)
- 3.75 Participation
Disclosures
AAHPM endorses the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for disclosure and commercial support and endeavors to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor for all accredited products or programs. All who are in a position to control or influence the content of an educational activity must disclose any relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.*Disclosure documents were reviewed for potential conflicts of interest and, if identified, were resolved prior to confirmation of participation. Only those who had no conflict of interest or who agreed to an identified resolution process prior to their participation were involved in this activity.
All editors, faculty and staff have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
*An ineligible company is defined as any entity producing, marketing, reselling, or distributing healthcare goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients.
Faculty
Balu Natarajan, MD HMDC
Dr. Balu Natarajan is Chief Medical Officer at AccentCare, where he leads clinical strategy and quality across AccentCare’s full continuum of post-acute care services. Since joining AccentCare in 2000, he has played a pivotal role in advancing evidence-based, patient-centered care that improves outcomes, supports dignity and empowers patients to age in place.
Board-certified in internal medicine, sports medicine and hospice and palliative care, Dr. Natarajan brings deep clinical expertise to AccentCare. His leadership is defined by a commitment to clinical excellence and team empowerment, which in turn enables AccentCare to deliver high-quality, personalized care across our continuum of services. Under his leadership, AccentCare has consistently outperformed national benchmarks while continuing to serve increasingly complex patients.
Dr. Natarajan is a recognized voice in the medical community, authoring book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals and lecturing at key industry events, including the Annual Meetings of the American College of Physicians American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
In addition to his contributions to the medical field, Dr. Natarajan also has served as Vice Chair of the Board and volunteer CEO of the educational non-profit North South Foundation and is an active, collaborative supporter of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which he won in 1985.
He earned his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School and continues to practice in Chicago.
Carrie Hempel-Sanderoff, DO HMDC
Dr. Carrie Hempel-Sandero2 is an osteopathic physician who attended the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her internal medicine residency in Philadelphia in 2005 and went on to complete a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) in 2008. After moving to Baltimore and working in the ICU, she developed a passion for improving the experiences and symptoms of critically ill and terminally ill patients. She then became board-certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and has practiced Critical Care, Hospital-Based Palliative Care, and Hospice care for 16 years. Her professional passions include teaching, educational content creation, and academic writing, with recent contributions to the 4th Edition of the Hospice Medical Directors Manual and the 2026 AAHPM Annual Assembly. She has been a webinar presenter and an exam item writer for the HMDCB, and she is always excited about opportunities to innovate and advance the field of hospice and palliative care.
Kyle Neale, DO
Kyle Neale, DO, is an assistant professor of medicine and palliative medicine physician at the Cleveland Clinic, where he serves as Director of Palliative Medicine Clinical Operations at their main campus. His clinical and academic interests include complex pain management, substance use disorders, and the integration of harm reduction and addiction medicine principles into serious illness care. He leads several institutional initiatives focused on improving the care of patients with complex pain and substance use and is actively involved in medical education, quality improvement, and program development.
Bernice Burkarth, MD FAAHPM HMDC (Moderator)
Staff
Krystine Hansen, MS
Emily Geary, BA
Katie Siesel, BS
Accreditation Statement
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) designates this live activity for a maximum of 3.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.
Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Successful completion includes attesting to meaningful activity participation and completion/submission of activity evaluation within the time frame designated.
Evaluation period closes December 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM CT for claiming CME credit.
Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Recognition Statement
Through the American Board of Medical Specialties (“ABMS”) ongoing commitment to increase access to practice relevant Continuing Certification Activities through the ABMS Continuing Certification Directory, Hospice Super Forum 2026 (apply toward general CME requirement) for the following ABMS Member Boards:
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 3.75 MOC Medical Knowledge points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.
It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit. By submitting your evaluation, you grant AAHPM permission to submit completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting respective BOARD MOC program credit or points as applicable. De-identified aggregated data from the evaluation may be used for research and/or publication and will conform to generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection and analysis where indicated.
Evaluation period closes December 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM CT for claiming MOC credit.
Available Credit
- 3.75 ABIM MOC
- 3.75 CME (physician only)
- 3.75 Participation