Posts by Emily L. Aaronson, MD, MPH
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Social Worker–led Serious Illness Conversations Feasible in the ED
Emily L. Aaronson, MD, MPH, Jeffrey L. Greenwald, MD, and colleagues conducted a randomized pilot trial in which emergency department social workers had serious illness conversations with 66% of older adults with potential palliative care needs—on top of their usual duties—and 77% of patients appreciated the talk.
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Mapping the Future for Research in Emergency Medicine Palliative Care
Emily L. Aaronson, MD, MPH, served as the first author of a "roadmap" for researchers who seek to establish the value proposition of integrating palliative care into emergency departments and develop sustainable, reproducible, measurable, and unbiased interventions.
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Embedding Palliative Care Physicians in the ED Facilitated Goals of Care Conversations Early in COVID-19
Massachusetts General Hospital researchers report that when palliative care physicians were embedded in the ED early in COVID-19, they had a goal of care conversation with 59% of acutely ill patients they saw in collaboration with emergency physicians, and 61% of conversations included discussion of prognosis.
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Barriers to Integrating Palliative Care into Emergency Departments Persist Despite Heightened Interest During COVID-19
In a nationwide qualitative study, physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital found that despite growing interest in integrating palliative care into emergency departments, barriers during COVID-19 remain similar to those identified over the past decade.
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COVID-19 Prompted Integrating Palliative Care into Emergency Departments
In a national qualitative study, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers identified innovations in palliative care delivery, staffing, technology and training within emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Pilot of Embedded Palliative Care Early in COVID-19 Was Well Received by Emergency Clinicians
When surveyed about a pilot program of embedded palliative care early in the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency department clinicians reported a generally positive experience, including a perception of improved patient care.
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Palliative Care Embedded into Mass General Emergency Department During COVID-19 Pandemic
A formal program for palliative care engagement in the emergency department at Massachusetts General Hospital has increased seriously ill patients' access to goal-concordant care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biography
Dr. Emily Aaronson is assistant chief quality officer at Massachusetts General Hospital, assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mass General. She also serves as an associate medical director for CRICO, the risk management foundation of the Harvard medical institutions. Prior to this, Dr. Aaronson was a resident in the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency, where she served as a chief resident. She then completed the Harvard Medical School fellowship in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement, and a Masters in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. Before medical school, Dr. Aaronson worked in healthcare consulting for the consulting arm of the Advisory Board Company.
In her role as assistant chief quality officer at Mass General, Dr. Aaronson plays a central role in the quality and safety leadership team at the institution. She has worked on projects that intersect quality measurement and performance improvement including helping to lead the institutional efforts to improve performance on Sepsis, and spearheading improvements in the quality of care for patients with Serious Illness in the Emergency Department. In her role as a physician in the center for quality and safety she is a part of the team that reviews and investigates serious events throughout the hospital, and helps lead the team that works on harmonizing quality across the MGH affiliated hospitals.
