Posted on April 25, 2001 at 9:50 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — End-of-life care will be the subject of a live, satellite videoconference hosted in Birmingham by Alabamians for Better Care at Life’s End (ABCLE). The national conference can be viewed from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, May 14, at the West Pavilion board room, UAB Hospital, 620 19th Street South, Birmingham. The conference, entitled “Doctor-Patient Communication at the End of Life: Confronting the Darkness Together,” is presented by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

“This conference will provide practical communication strategies for physicians and other medical professionals who have patients facing end-of-life issues,” says Dr. John Shuster, director of ABCLE, a statewide coalition of groups dedicated to improving end-of-life care. “One of the most important skills a medical professional should possess today is the ability to effectively communicate with patients at the end of life.” Shuster is also director of the Center for Palliative Care at UAB.

The program will be both live and interactive, allowing participants to ask the expert panelists questions via phone and fax and to receive immediate feedback. All questions will be answered, either live on air, or by fax after the program. The program is chaired by Dr. Lidia Schapira, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The panelists are Dr. Anthony Back, Puget Sound VA Medical Center, Seattle; Dr. Walter Baile, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston; Dr. Robert Buckman, Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Center, Toronto, Dr. Ira Byock, University of Montana, Missoula; and Dr. Edwin Cassem, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

This program is targeted in particular to oncologists, oncology nurses and internal medicine specialists and offers continuing medical education credits for physicians. It is also open to the general public.

For more information, contact ABCLE at (205) 975-9815 or 1-877-594-5050.