History

2007-2010

• In 2007, Steve Smith was named the CEO/Executive Director of AAHPM.
• The 4th edition of the Primer of Palliative Care was published in 2007 and the 5^th edition was published in 2010.
• A new AAHPM Strategic Plan was approved by the Board of Directors in 2007 identifying 5 major goals: strengthen communities within AAHPM; build workforce and leadership; advance knowledge and competency; promote quality care and evidence-based research; and increase external awareness and reach.
• In 2007, the AAHPM Board of Directors approved two new position statements focusing on research ethics and physician-assisted death.
• The AAHPM Access Fund was introduced in 2007 providing scholarships for five physicians to attend at the AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly. 
• The Hospice and Palliative Care Training for Physicians: UNIPAC, 3rd Edition was published in 2008.
• HPM PASS (Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physician Assessment & Self Study Tool) was released in spring 2008 and the 2^nd edition was released in spring 2010. HPM FAST (Hospice and Palliative Medicine Focused Assessment & Study Tool) modules debuted online in fall 2008.
• In 2008 and 2010, attendance at AAHPM Board Review courses reached record highs (more than 700 attendees), as attendees were eager to learn and prepare for the board certification exams. 
• In 2008, CMS recognized hospice and palliative medicine as a medical subspecialty.
• The Clinical Scholars Program was launched in 2008, offering focused clinical experiences to physicians at selected hospice and palliative care sites across the country.
• In 2008, the Current Concepts in Palliative Care: Update and Review Course CD-ROM and Hospice Medical Director Course CD-ROM were released. 
• Positions statements about family-based advance care planning and access to palliative care and hospice were released in 2008.
• In 2008, AAHPM exhibited at the annual conferences of the American College of Physicians, American Academy of Family Medicine, and the AMA to educate others about hospice and palliative medicine. In subsequent years, the Academy also exhibited at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the American Geriatrics Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• In 2008, AAHPM offered members a Web-based grassroots advocacy tool used to help them communicate with their elected officials on issues related to hospice and palliative medicine. The Academy now uses
• Attendance at the Annual Assembly exceeded 1,700 in 2007 and more than 2,400 in 2010.
• The Academy's membership grew to more than 4,100 members in 2010.
• AAHPM designed a new membership constituency model in 2009, allowing members to collaborate in professional communities reflecting their specific areas of expertise.
• A total of 135 physicians are now recognized as fellows of AAHPM.
• AAHPM’s Leadership Education and Academic Development (LEAD) program began in 2009 with 35 participants.
• AAHPM launched PalliativeDoctors.org to raise awareness of the medical and other services available to patients seeking palliative or hospice care.
• UNIPAC QR: A Quick Reference Guide was released as a book and PDA product in 2009.
• The Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (JPSM) became the official journal of AAHPM in 2009.
• A competency toolkit was developed in 2010 that will help fellowship directors guide and evaluate trainees’ clinical skills and knowledge.
• In 2008, AAHPM co-sponsored the annual Kathleen Foley Research Retreat with the National Palliative Care Research Center and the American Cancer Society.
• AAHPM launched its presence on social networking sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter in 2009, and the first Academy blog is published in 2010.
• AAHPM partnered with ReachMD in 2010 to host Perspectives in Palliative Medicine.
• The Academy joined the National Health Council in 2009 and the Council of Medical Specialty Societies in 2010.

2002-2006

• AAHPM secured a seat in the AMA House of Delegates
• AAHPM, HPNA, and NHPCO formed the Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition
• In 2003, a new edition of the UNIPACs physician self-study series and the Pocket Guide to Hospice/Palliative Medicine were published
• In 2003, the Academy received a $1.2 million grant from the Open Society Institute?s Project on Death in America to be used for hiring a part-time physician executive, providing part-time compensation to the President of the Academy, expanding staff, and developing a College of Palliative Care.
• In 2004, a Medical Director Model and the 3rd edition of the Primer of Palliative Care were published
• The College of Palliative Care was established to advance palliative care as an academic and clinical discipline through educational and research endeavors. The first programs included one-on-one and long-term mentoring, and an Assembly scholarship program.
• In 2005, a new electronic publication, PC-FACS, was launched; the Hospice Medical Director Course became available on CD and CD-ROM; and the Academy hosted the first two-day meeting to provide technical assistance to fellowship program directors.
• In 2006, AAHPM and the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine working together achieved recognition for the subspecialty of hospice and palliative medicine within the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The ABMS certification examination will be co-sponsored by the following: The American Boards of Internal Medicine, Anesthesiology, Family Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Psychiatry and Neurology, Surgery, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, and Radiology. Approval is still pending from the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• Attendance at the 2006 Annual Assembly exceeded 1700 and membership surpassed 2600.

1997-2001

• The Academy's membership had grown to over 1400 members in 1997
• The position statement on physician assisted suicide was updated, enabling the Academy to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on PAS
• The Academy established a membership category for fellows, residents, and students
• "Advancing the Science of Comfort Affirming the Art of Caring" was adopted as the Academy's guiding principle
• A position statement on the Use of Nutrition and Hydration was approved
• In December 1999, the Academy's offices were moved to Glenview, IL

1992-1997

• In a two-day strategic planning session, the academy identified four major goals:
  1. To increase membership communication;
  2. To develop standards for the specialty of hospice palliative care;
  3. To consider an independent annual meeting;
  4. To establish hospice as core component of health care.
• Hospice Update was renamed Academy Update and offered as a member benefit 4 times a year
• Primer of Palliative Care (originally published as the Primer of Hospice Care) was published
• The first edition of the UNIPACs physician self-study series was completed
• The Academy published the first core curriculum of hospice and palliative care
• Sponsored and encouraged by AAHPM, the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (ABHPM) was incorporated in May 1996, with the first certifying examination held later that year
• The Academy achieved CME provider status in January 1996 and, after an initial probationary period, gained full approval from the American Council on Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) for a five-year period beginning January 1998
• After years of holding an annual meeting in conjunction with IHI and the Academy of Hospice Nurses (AHN), the Academy sponsored its first independent annual assembly in 1996 in Snowbird, UT
• Also in 1996, the Academy changed its name to the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM)
• In December 1996, the Academy was accepted as a provisional member of the Specialty and Service Society Section (SSS) of the American Medical Association (AMA)

1987-1992

• In the summer of 1987, Josefina B. Magno, MD, President of the International Hospice Institute (IHI), and Gerald Holman, MD, Director of St. Anthony's Hospice and Life Enrichment Center (SAHLEC) in Amarillo, TX, met to discuss the possibility of organizing an Academy of Hospice Physicians.
• At the IHI meeting in Granby, CO in June 1988, 127 of an original 250 founding member physicians gathered and the Academy of Hospice Physicians was born.
• Education programs were developed in Amarillo, West Palm Beach, and Philadelphia to share information with physicians interested in hospice care.
• Standing and ad-hoc committees on education, ethics, standards, and membership were established.
• The first issue of the Hospice Update newsletter was published
• A position statement on physician-assisted suicide (PAS) was adopted