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Dr. Paul L. Desandre

Dr. Paul L. DeSandre, DO, FACEP, FAAHPM

Chief of Palliative and Supportive Care

Dr. Paul L. Desandre, DO, FACEP, FAAHPM is the Chief of Palliative and Supportive Care at Grady Memorial Hospital and Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. DeSandre has been a committed teacher in Emergency Medicine since completing training at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL. With a strong interest in improving the care of patients with serious illness in the emergency department, he completed a fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

In 2008, Dr. DeSandre became the first physician in the nation to have been trained and board-certified in both Emergency Medicine and Hospice in Palliative Medicine. His academic focus is on the integration of palliative medicine skills in emergency medicine practice. Additional interests include preserving the opportunity for organ donation in end-of-life situations and improving physician communication skills.

Dr. DeSandre teaches in the NCI sponsored Education in Palliative and End of Life Care – Emergency Medicine (EPEC-EM) Project and is editor of the Oxford University Press book, “Palliative Aspects of Emergency Care.”

Specialties

  • Hospice and Palliative Medicine
  • Emergency Medicine
  • Family Medicine

Board Certifications

  • ABMS Emergency Medicine

Fellowships

  • Beth Israel Medical Center

Affiliations

  • Emory

Education & Training

  • Medical School: Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences
  • Internship: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Residency: Cook County Office of Risk Management

Publications

Amitai Y, Kennedy EJ, DeSandre P, Frischer H, Distribution of amitriptyline and nortriptyline in blood: role of alpha-1-glycoprotein, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, 1993, 15(4), 267-273.

Amitai Y, Kennedy E, DeSandre P, Fawcett J, Frischer H, Red cell and plasma concentrations of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine, Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 1993, 35(2), 134-136.

Safdar B, Heins A, Homel P, Miner J, Neighbor M, DeSandre P, Todd KH, Impact of physician and patient gender on pain management in the emergency department: a multicenter study, Pain Medicine, 2009, 10(2), 364-372.

Glajchen M, Lawson R, Homel P, Desandre P, Todd KH, A rapid two-stage screening protocol for palliative care in the emergency department: a quality improvement initiative, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2011, 42(5), 657-662.

Shoenberger J, Lamba S, Goett R, DeSandre P, Aberger K, Bigelow S, Brandtman T, Chan G, Zalenski R, Wang D, Jubanyik K, Development of hospice and palliative medicine knowledge and skills for emergency medicine residents: Using the ACGME Milestone framework, Academic Emergency Medicine Education and Training, 2018, 2(2), 130-145.

DeSandre PL, Methamphetamine emergencies, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 2006, 10(3-4), 57-65. [database: PsycINFO (EBSCO)]

DeSandre PL, Handling emergencies in the palliative phase of care, Emergency Medicine, 2007, 39(12), 30-36.

DeSandre PL, Quest TE, Management of cancer-related pain, Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, 2009, 27(2), 179-194.

DeSandre PL, Quest TE, Management of cancer-related pain, Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America 2010, 24(3), 643-658.

Lamba S, DeSandre PL, Todd KH, Bryant EN Chan GK, Grudzen CR, Weissman DE, Quest TE, Integration of palliative care into emergency medicine: the improving palliative care in emergency medicine (IPAL-EM) collaboration, Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2014, 46(2), 264-270

Lamba S, DeSandre PL, Quest TE, Opportunities and challenges facing the integrated physician workforce of emergency medicine and hospice and palliative medicine, Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2016, 51(6), 658-667

Marco CA, Venkat A, Baker EF, Jesus JE, Geiderman JM, Friedman V, Allen NG, Aswegan AL, Bookman K, Brenner JM, Delpier MY, Derse AR, DeSandre PL, Donahue BB, et al, Prescription drug monitoring programs: ethical issues in the emergency department, Annals of Emergency Medicine, 2016, 68(5), 589-598.

DeSandre PL, 2003, "Ankylosing Spondylitis," Schaider J, Hayden SR, Wolf RE, Barkin RM, Rosen P. The 5 Minute Emergency Medicine Consult, Second Edition, Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, pp. 76-77.

DeSandre PL, 2006, "Methamphetamine Emergencies," Wainberg ML, Kolodny AJ, Drescher J, eds, Crystal Meth and Men Who Have Sex with Men: What Mental Health Care Professionals Need to Know, NewYork, Haworth Press, pp. 57-65.

DeSandre PL, 2007, "Ankylosing Spondylitis," Schaider J, Hayden SR, Wolf RE, Barkin RM, Rosen P, eds., The 5 Minute Emergency Medicine Consult, Third Edition, Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, pp. 74-75.

DeSandre PL, 2011, "Ankylosing Spondylitis," Schaider J, Barkin RM, Hayden SR, Wolf RE, Barkin AZ, Shayne P, Rosen P, eds., The 5 Minute Emergency Medicine Consult, Fourth Edition, Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, pp. 74-75.

Quest TE, DeSandre PL, 2012, "Palliative Care in the Emergency Department," Jesus J, Rosen P, Adams J, Derse AR, Grossman SA, Wolfe R, eds., Ethical Problems in Emergency Medicine: A Discussion-based Review, Hoboken, NJ, Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 79-87.

DeSandre PL, May K, 2014, "Palliative and End-of-Life Care in the Emergency Department," Kahn J, Magauran B, and Olshaker J, eds., Geriatric Emergency Medicine, Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, pp. 322-335.

DeSandre PL, May K, 2015, "Palliative Care in the Emergency Department," Cherny N, Fallon M, Kaasa S, Portenoy R, and Currow D, eds., Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine, Fifth Edition, Oxford UK, Oxford University Press, pp. 117-124.

DeSandre P, Chandrasekaran E, 2018, "Pain at the End of Life," Strayer R, Motov S, Nelson L, eds., Management of Pain and Procedural Sedation in Acute Care [accepted pending final review].

DeSandre PL, Quest TE, editors, 2013, Palliative Aspects of Emergency Care. Oxford American Palliative Care Library, New York, Oxford University Press (ISBN 978-0-19-989561-8).

DeSandre PL, contributing speaker, Acute HIV Infection Syndrome (nationally distributed educational video), sponsors: NY/NJ AIDS Education and Training Center, St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center, and the New York City Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, 2005.

DeSandre PL, contributing item writer for HPM PASS (2nd Edition, 2010, 3rd Edition, 2012, and 4th edition, 2016), an electronic study guide and practice exam for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine specialty board exam, sponsored by the American Association of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (currently accessible on-line: http://www.aahpm.org).

Siegelman J, DeSandre P, Quest T, Child Death Disclosure - Standardized Patient Case. MedEdPORTAL Publications, 2015. Available from: https://www.mededportal.org/publication/10051 http://dx.doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10051

DeSandre P, Siegelman J, Arnovitz P, Quest T, Adult death disclosure to a surviving spouse, MedEdPORTAL Publications, 2015;11:10207.

DeSandre PL, End-of-Life Care in the ICU: The Palliative Care Perspective, 2017, Curriculum module created for use by various educators institutionally, regionally, and nationally. Organ Donation Advanced Seminar for Standardized Clinical Education. The Organ Donation and Transplantation Leadership Alliance.

Bryant EN, Quest TE, DeSandre PL, Weissman DE, Getting started: organizing and ed palliative care initiative. A technical assistance monograph from the Improving Palliative Care in Emergency Medicine (IPAL-EM) Project for the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), 2011.

DeSandre PL, Stone S, Quest TE, Weissman DE, Four things to do in a week: integrating palliative care services into the emergency department. A technical assistance monograph from the Improving Palliative Care in Emergency Medicine (IPAL-EM) Project for the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), 2011.

DeSandre PL, Quest TE, Harrison R, Weissman DE, Billing for palliative care in the ED for EM providers. A technical assistance monograph from the Improving Palliative Care in Emergency Medicine (IPAL-EM) Project for the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), 2011

Venkat A, McGrath N, DeSandre P, Phillips E, Ethical tensions in emergency medicine: how to balance the personal and the organizational, ACEP Now. October 23 Issue, 2014.

DeSandre PL, Fairbrother H, Rosenberg M, Jesus J (2016) End-of-life discussions in the emergency department. ACEP Now. August 9 Issue, 2016.

Krauss CK, Jesus J, Donahue B, Wang D, DeSandre PL, Derse A, Ethics of palliative and end-of-life care in the emergency department. An informational paper for the American College of Emergency Physicians, 2016.