James Joseph Parris, MD, PhD

Biography

I am currently the medical director of the VA Boston Hospital in Home program. The program is designed to provide hospital-level services to veterans in their homes using an interdisciplinary team consisting of an attending physician, physician assistant, nursing team, pharmacist, and social worker. I also attend on the general medicine wards and palliative care consult service at the West Roxbury VA Hospital. Prior to medical school, I did research on human embryonic stem cell differentiation and obtained my PhD from Newcastle University as a Marshall Scholar. I attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and then completed my internship, residency, and chief residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Between my residency and chief residency, I worked for one year as a hospitalist at BIDMC and affiliated community sites. I completed a clinical fellowship in the Harvard Interprofessional Palliative Care Fellowship Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute / Brigham and Women’s Hospital. I am interested in novel methods of care delivery and using the skills and principles of palliative care for patients with complex medical and psychosocial needs.