Director of Quality Initiatives, Division of Adult Palliative Care, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital
Associate Director, Serious Illness Care Program, Ariadne Labs
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Rachelle E. Bernacki, MD, MS co-founded the Serious Illness Care Program, which has developed a standardized approach for ensuring clinicians conduct discussions about values and goals with seriously ill patients and their families. A trial conducted at DFCI demonstrated more, earlier and better conversations between patients and their oncology clinicians, and significant reductions in emotional suffering for patients with advanced cancer. Dr. Bernacki is also the recipient of two Geriatric Academic Career Awards from Health Resources and Service Administration as well as a 2015 Cambia Sojourns Leadership Scholar. Dr. Bernacki is board certified in palliative medicine, geriatrics, and internal medicine and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the American Geriatrics Society.