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
Carpenter JG, Kinder D, Smith D, Ersek M, Wachterman M, Thorpe J, Sullivan DR, Bailey J, Shreve S, Kutney-Lee A. Nursing Home Star Ratings and End-Of-Life Care Quality: Lessons Learned From the Veterans Health Administration. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2024 Jun 28; 25(9):105121. PMID: 38950589.
Published on 5/27/2024Sullivan DR, Jones KF, Wachterman MW, Griffin HL, Kinder D, Smith D, Thorpe J, Feder SL, Ersek M, Kutney-Lee A. TEMPORARY REMOVAL: Opportunities to Improve End-of-Life Care Quality among Patients with Short Terminal Admissions. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024 May 27. PMID: 38810950.
Published on 5/22/2024Wachterman MW, Sinha A, Leveille T, Waikar SS, Widera E, Romero K, Bokhour B. Nephrologists' perspectives and experiences with hospice among older adults with end-stage kidney disease. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 Jul; 72(7):2060-2069. PMID: 38777614.
Published on 4/28/2024Kurniawan HI, Sciacca KR, Wachterman MW, Gelfand SL. Clinical practice review: outpatient palliative care for the geriatric chronic kidney disease population. Ann Palliat Med. 2024 Apr 28. PMID: 38735689.
Published on 11/10/2023Wachterman 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.