A key ingredient to informed patient-doctor discussions regarding serious illness care includes the patient’s ability to understand and imagine hypothetical disease states and medical interventions. However, studies suggest that there are numerous barriers to communication between doctors and patients.

One innovation to surmount these barriers includes using video decision aids to reinforce serious illness conversations. Dr. Angelo E. Volandes leads a group of internationally recognized researchers who create and study video decision aids to empower patients and families to make informed decisions at the end of life. ( www.ACPdecisions.org ) Dr. Volandes is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Volandes' research is focused on improving patient decision-making and is supported by the NIH, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Alzheimer’s Association, the Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation, the Stupski Foundation, and the Melik-Baschkopf Foundation. He received his BA in philosophy from Harvard College his medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine, and a Masters of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. Following medical school, Dr. Volandes completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He then completed fellowships in medical ethics at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. He was named the Edmond J. Safra Faculty Fellow in 2004-5 at the Harvard University Center for Ethics.

His first book was just released by Bloomsbury Press and is titled, The Conversation: A Revolutionary Plan for End-of-Life Care. .

Dr. Bernard ÍžBudÍŸ Hammes is the Executive Director of Respecting Choices®. For the 32 years prior to this position, Dr. Hammes was a member of the medical staff, Director of Humanities, and Clinical Ethicist at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin. As part of his position at Gundersen, he founded and helped develop the Respecting Choices program in the La Crosse region. Since 1999, he also helped develop the Respecting Choices program into a national and international program.

Dr. Hammes served as editor for the book, Having Your Own Say: Getting the Right Care When It Matters Most, which was released in 2012. He has authored or co-authored 46 articles and book chapters that are focused on clinical ethics, advance care planning, and care of patients with serious illness. Dr. Hammes was awarded the PDIA Palliative Medicine Community Leadership Award by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 2012.

This award recognizes an individual for contributions to the advancement of the field of palliative medicine through the education and training of future leaders. In 2015, he received recognition from the Tribeca Disruption Innovation Awards for the impact of the Respecting Choices program. This award celebrates those whose ideas have broken the mold to create remarkable impact.

Dr. Yanni attended medical school at SUNY Syracuse and completed her training in Internal Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. She has served as the Medical Director of Palliative Medicine for Bon Secours Virginia since 2011 and her role expanded in 2016 to serve as the Executive Medical Director of Comprehensive Care which includes oversight of Bon Secours serious illness services including home care and hospice. Dr. Yanni has published several papers and has been invited to speak at state and national meetings on topics such as pain management, advance care planning, and palliative care.

She enjoys writing about her experience with patients and families to support the community’s awareness of palliative care. Dr. Yanni has received several awards, including winning Best Bedside Manner from Our Health Magazine and being named a “Top Doc” by Richmond Magazine for over ten consecutive years. Under her leadership, the four Bon Secours Richmond hospitals received The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification for Palliative Care, and awarded the American Hospital Association’s 2016 Circle of Life Award: Celebrating Innovation in Palliative and End of Life Care. Dr.

Yanni is a board member of Honoring Choices Virginia and the Supportive Care Coalition. She focuses on advancing the health system’s strategy to support delivering the best possible care to patients and families facing serious illness.