Melissa W. Wachterman MD
Adjunct Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine
150 S Huntington Avenue | (617) 638-5300mwachterman@partners.org
Sections
General Internal Medicine
Biography
Dr. Melissa Wachterman is an Adjunct Assistant Professor with the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine in General Internal Medicine. She is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine with Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and Harvard affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Dr. Wacherman received her MD and MPH from Tufts University School of Medicine and her MS from Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Wachterman conducts health services research focused on improving the quality of care for seriously-ill older adults with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). As a 2014 NPCRC Career Development Award grantee, she examined trajectories of patient-centered outcomes (cognitive and functional status and pain) for older adults on dialysis and explore decision-making about dialysis initiation from the perspectives of older adults with ESRD, their family caregivers, and their providers. The ultimate goal is to improve communication and patient-centered decision-making about dialysis initiation for this seriously-ill patient population. She also has a strong interest in end-of-life care.
Education
MD, Tufts University School of Medicine
Epidemiology, MSc, Harvard School of Public Health
MPH, Tufts University School of Medicine
Psychology, BA, Haverford College
Publications
Wachterman MW, Smith D, Carpenter JG, Griffin HL, Thorpe J, Feder SL, Hoelter J, Ersek M, Shreve S, Kutney-Lee A. A comparison of end-of-life care quality for Veterans receiving hospice in VA nursing homes and community nursing homes. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 Jan; 72(1):59-68. PMID: 37947240.
Published on 4/19/2023Pless Kaiser A, Moye J, Baird L, Sager Z, Wachterman M. Factors Associated With Distress Related to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at the End of Life Among U.S. Veterans. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2023 Aug; 66(2):102-115. PMID: 37084828.
Published on 3/1/2023Romero K, Widera E, Wachterman MW. Breaking the Link Between Enrollment in Hospice and Discontinuation of Dialysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2023 Mar 01; 183(3):177-178. PMID: 36716017.
Published on 10/7/2022Wachterman MW, Corneau EE, O'Hare AM, Keating NL, Mor V. Association of Hospice Payer With Concurrent Receipt of Hospice and Dialysis Among US Veterans With End-stage Kidney Disease: A Retrospective Analysis of a National Cohort. JAMA Health Forum. 2022 Oct 07; 3(10):e223708. PMID: 36269338.
Published on 9/12/2022Butler CR, Wachterman MW, O'Hare AM. Concurrent Hospice and Dialysis: Proof of Concept. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2022 Oct; 33(10):1808-1810. PMID: 36096635.
Published on 9/11/2022Kinder D, Thorpe J, Smith D, Wachterman M, Kutney-Lee A. Psychometric Evaluation of the Veterans Affairs Bereaved Family Survey in Community Nursing Homes. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022 Dec; 64(6):e317-e322. PMID: 36103938.
Published on 9/2/2022Kalver E, Branch-Elliman W, Stolzmann K, Wachterman M, Shin MH, Schweizer ML, Mull HJ. Prevalence of One-Year Mortality after Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Placement: An Opportunity for Palliative Care? J Palliat Med. 2023 Feb; 26(2):175-181. PMID: 36067080.
Published on 3/12/2022Wachterman MW, Luth EA, Semco RS, Weissman JS. Where Americans Die - Is There Really "No Place Like Home"? N Engl J Med. 2022 Mar 17; 386(11):1008-1010. PMID: 35275480.
Published on 3/1/2022Jones KF, Laury E, Sanders J, Starr LT, Rosa WE, Booker SQ, Wachterman M, Jones CA, Hickman S, Merlin JS, Meghani SH. Author Response to Reader's Comments to Fitzgerald Jones et al., Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Delivering Antiracist Care to Black Americans (DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2021.0502). J Palliat Med. 2022 03; 25(3):347-348. PMID: 35230905.
Published on 2/1/2022Merlin JS, Wachterman MW, Becker WC, Bohnert ASB. Serious Illness and Limitations of Death Certificate-Based Data: Urgent Lessons From the Opioid Epidemic. Am J Public Health. 2022 02; 112(S1):S36-S38. PMID: 35143261.