Sandy Buchman

President, The Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa, Ontario

Freeman Family Chair in Palliative Care, North York General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario

President-Elect, Canadian Medical Association 2018-2019

Associate Professor DFCM, Division of Palliative Care, University of Toronto

Assistant Clinical Professor, Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University

Palliative Care Physician providing home-based care, The Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care, Sinai Heath System, Toronto

Palliative Care Physician, Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) program, Inner City Health Associates, Toronto

Palliative Care Physician, Journey Home Hospice for the Homeless, Toronto

Medical Director & member Board of Directors, Neshama Hospice, Toronto

Facilitator-Coach for Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative and End of Life Care, Pallium Canada

Recent past positions:

The College of Family Physicians of Canada: President 2011-2012; Chair, Social Accountability Working Group 2012-2017

Ontario College of Family Physicians: President 2006-2007

Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care: Education Lead, 2010-2016

Cancer Care Ontario: Clinical Lead, Department of Integrated Care; Regional Primary Care Lead for the Toronto Regional Cancer Program; Deputy Provincial Lead in Palliative Care responsible for primary care/palliative care integration

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer Chair, Primary Care Working Group 2013-2017; Member, Palliative and End-of-Life National Network 2012-2017

Pallium Canada: Member National Advisory Committee for Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative and End of Life Care 2011-2017

DFCM: Member, Enhanced Skills in Palliative Care (PGY3) Committee, Div. Palliative Care 2011-2017; Member, Undergraduate Palliative Care Committee, Div. Palliative Care 2011-2017

Research Synopsis

The areas of research in which I have become involved have centred on the questions of improving primary care cancer care. The importance of primary care involvement in the patient’s cancer journey from health promotion and prevention through to screening, early diagnosis, survivorship through to recovery or end of life care is becoming increasingly evident and recognized including improved clinical outcomes.

Another major area of interest is the Integration of palliative care and primary care in the community setting and palliative care and cancer care in cancer centres.

A secondary area of interest is the Social Accountability of Family Medicine and Family Physicians to society. How can Family Medicine and Family Physicians practice to truly address and incorporate the Social Determinants of Health into daily practice at the individual patient level, the regional or community level and the system level?

Recent Publications

Evans JM, Mackinnon M, Pereira J. Earle C, Gagnon B, Arthurs E, Gradin S, Buchman S, Wright FC. Integrating early palliative care into routine practice for patients with cancer: A mixed methods evaluation of the INTEGRATE Project. Psycho‐Oncology. 2019;1–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5076.

Granek L, Buchman S. Improving physician well-being: lessons from palliative care. CMAJ April 08, 2019. 191 (14) E380-E381; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.190110. http://www.cmaj.ca/content/191/14/E380?rss=1

Bruno Gagnon, Sandy Buchman, Anum Irfan Khan, Marnie MacKinnon, Sara Urowitz, Tara Walton, Marie Immacula Fabienne Cléophat-Jolicoeur and José Pereira. Do family health clinics provide primary-level palliative care in Ontario and the eastern regions of Quebec? Can Fam Physician 2019; 65:118-124. CA http://www.cfp.ca/content/65/2/118.abstract?etoc . Accessed February 14, 2019

Buchman S. Why I decided to provide assisted dying: it is truly patient centred care BMJ 2019; 364 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l412 (Published 30 January 2019)

Mittmann N, Liu N, MacKinnon M, Look Hong NJ, Earle C, Gradin S, Sati S, Buchman S, Jakda A, Wright F. Does early palliative identification improve the use of palliative care services? PLOS One (in press 2019)

Evans J, Mackinnon M, Pereira J, Earle C, Gagnon B, Arthurs E, Gradin S, Walton T, Wright F, Buchman S. Building Capacity for Palliative Care Delivery in Primary Care Settings: The INTEGRATE Project in Ontario, Canada. Canadian Family Physician (in press 2019)

Vierhout, M., Vernbut, J., Amos, E., Buchman, S., Husain, A., Meuser, J., & Bernstein, M. (2019) Loss of relationship: a qualitative study of families and healthcare providers after patient death and home-based palliative care ends. Annals of Palliative Medicine, 8(2), 130-139.

Wales J, Isenberg S, Weiger P, Shapiro J, Cellarius V, Buchman S, Hussain A, Khoshnood N. Providing Medical Assistance in Dying within a Home Palliative Care Program in Toronto, Canada: An Observational Study of the First Year of Experience. Journal of Palliative Medicine VOL. 21, NO. 11. Published Online: 29 Oct 2018 https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2018.0175. CA

Nicole Mittmann, Ning Liu, Marnie MacKinnon, Soo Jin Seung, Nicole Look Hong, Craig Earle, Sharon Gradin, Saurabh Sati, Sandy Buchman, Frances Catriona Wright. Active identification of patients appropriate for palliative care: Impact on use of palliative care and home care resources. Journal of Clinical Oncology. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2018.36.30_suppl.101 Journal of Clinical Oncology - published online September 25, 2018. CA

Bridging Silos: Delivering Integrated Care to Patients with Cancer in Ontario, Canada. Buchman, S. Evans, J. MacKinnon, M. Gradin, S. Wright, F. Psycho-Oncology. 2018: 1-4.

Wright F, Buchman S, Mackinnon M, Rajmohan Y. Multidisciplinary Cancer Conferences as a form of patients who can benefit from a palliative approach to care: INTEGRATE quality improvement project. Journal Of Clinical Oncology March 2017.

Buchman S, Wright F, Mackinnon M, Mani R. P139 Early Integration of Palliative Care in Ontario: INTEGRATE Quality Improvement Project. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.10.217 December 2016.

Gagnon B, Urowitz S, Buchman S, Miladi N. P345 Evaluation of a French Version of the Primary Care’s Tool for a Palliative Care Approach. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.10.349 December 2016

Cartagena R, Thompson A, Katebian K, Lemmens T, Geist R, Schipper H, Buchman S, Heesoo K, Handelman M. Understanding the relationship between suffering and capacity at the end-of-life: A pilot study. Improving the Last Stages of Life. December 2016. The Law Commission of Ontario. http://www.lco-cdo.org/Cartagena%20et%20al.pdf.

Social Accountability at the macro level: Framing the Big Picture. Meili R, Buchman S, Woollard R, Goel R. Canadian Family Physician October 2016 vol. 62 no.10

Social accountability at the meso level: Into the community. Woollard R, Buchman S, Meili R, Strasser R, Alexander I, Goel R. Canadian Family Physician July 2016 vol. 62 no. 7 538-540.

Social accountability at the micro level: One patient at a time. Goel R, Buchman S, Meili R, Woollard R. Canadian Family Physician April 2016 vol. 62 no. 4 287-290.

Equity and Practice Issues in Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Mixed Methods Study. Buchman, S. Rozmovitz,L. Glazier, R. Canadian Family Physician April 2016 vol. 62 no. 4 e186-e193

Practising social accountability: from theory to action. Buchman S, Woollard R, Meili R, Goel R. Canadian Family Physician January 2016 vol. 62 no. 1 15-18.

Are family medicine residents adequately trained to deliver palliative care? Mahtani R, Kurahashi A, Buchman S, Webster F, Husain A, Goldman R. Canadian Family Physician December 2015 vol. 61 no. 12 e577-e582

Evans J.M. Matheson G., Buchman S.,MacKinnon M., Meertens E., Ross J., Johal H. Integrating Cancer Care Beyond the Hospital and Across the Cancer Pathway: A Patient-Centred Approach. Healthcare Quarterly. 2015 Feb;17(Special):28-32.

Campbell-Scherer, D. Rogers, J. Manca, D. Lang-Robertson, K. Bell, S. Salvalaggio, G. Greiver, M. Korownyk, C. Klein, D. Carroll, J.C. Kahan, M. Meuser, J. Buchman, S. Barrett, R.M. Grunfeld, E. Guideline harmonization and implementation plan for the BETTER trial: Building on Existing Tools to Improve Chronic Disease Prevention and Screening in Family Practice. cmajo. 2014 Jan 22. 2:E1-E10; published online January 22, 2014, doi:10.9778/cmajo.20130040.

Gauvin FP, Lavis JN, Buchman S, et al. Improving End-of-life Communication, Decision-making and Care in Ontario. 2013 Sep 11. Hamilton, Canada: McMaster Health Forum, 11 September 2013.

Meili R, Buchman S. Social accountability: at the heart of family medicine. Can Fam Physician. 2013 Apr 1;59(4): 335-6.

Buchman S, Howe M. The Teaching Moment: Teaching End-of-Life Care in the Home. Canadian Family Physician. Vol.58, p 114-116, January 2012.

Cheng SM, Librach SL, Berry R, Buchman S. Healthcare integration: the study of the toronto central regional hospice palliative care “system” and its integration challenges. Healthcare Quarterly. 2010 Jan 1;13(4):78-83.

Buchman, S, Hung, A, Berman, H. Palliative Care in the Primary Care Setting. Geriatrics & Aging. Volume 11, No.9, p 506-508, October 2008.

Buchman, S. Tariro: Finding hope in Zimbabwe. Canadian Family Physician. Vol. 53, No. 11, November 2007, pp.1971 – 1973.

Gordon, M, Buchman, D, Buchman, S. “Bad News” Communication in Palliative Care: A Challenge and Key to Success. Annals of Long-term Care – A Clinical Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Volume 15, No. 4, p 32-38, April 2007.

President’s Message, Canadian Family Physician:

Buchman S. Saying yes. Canadian Family Physician. 2012 Nov 1;58(11):1302-3.
Buchman, S. Physician-assisted dying: Bringing the family physician perspective to the table. Can Fam Physician. October 2012, 58: 1169.
Buchman, S. It’s about time: 3-year FM residency training. Can Fam Physician. September 2012, 58: 1045. l
Buchman, S. Let’s depend on one another. Can Fam Physician. August 2012, 58: 901.
Buchman, S. The CFPC’s Research and Education Foundation: Giving back to family medicine. Can Fam Physician. July 2012, 58: 805.
Buchman, S. Screening for poverty in family practice. Can Fam Physician. June 2012, 58: 709.
Buchman, S. Transformative teachers. Can Fam Physician. May 2012, 58: 605.
Buchman, S. QI: the times they are a-changin’. Can Fam Physician. April 2012 58: 485.
Buchman, S. There’s no place like home. Can Fam Physician. March 2012, 58: 349.
Buchman, S. No free lunch. Can Fam Physician. February 2012, 58: 229.
Buchman, S. The Daniel Glazier Award in Adolescent Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Can Fam Physician. January 2012, 58: 118.
Buchman, S. Making good choices. Can Fam Physician. December 2011, 57: 1477.

Honours and Awards

NATIONAL

Award of Excellence, College of Family Physicians of Canada Nominated by the Cancer Care Ontario for work as a Regional Primary Care Lead. May 2011.

The C. Robert Kemp Palliative Care Award, College of Family Physicians of Canada. Oct 2003

PROVINCIAL / REGIONAL

Family Physician of the Year for Southern Ontario Region, Ontario College of Family Physicians. Sep 2004

LOCAL

Excellence in Continuing Education for Cancer Care in Primary Care, The Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto. Group Award: Primary Care Today Planning Committee 2002-201. Professional Development Program Award. Apr 2012

Grants

PEER-REVIEWED GRANTS
FUNDED
2016-2021: Manca D, Grunfeld E, Aubrey-Bassler K, Campbell-Scherer D, She-Budgell M, Krueger P, et al. Building on Existing Tools to Improve Cancer and Chronic Disease Prevention and Screening in Primary Care for Wellness of Cancer Survivors and Patients: The BETTER WISE Project. Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Fund

2013 Jan: The Better II Coalition: Building on Existing Tools to Improve Chronic Disease Prevention in Family Practice. Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP). PI: Grunfeld, E. Collaborator(s): Manca, D.

2013 – 2017: Principal Investigator. The Integrate Project. Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. The focus of the initiative is the early identification of patients with cancer requiring a palliative care approach in primary care and in the cancer centre settings in Ontario and Quebec. . Through appropriate educational and logistic supports both family medicine and oncology will be better able to manage these patients with improved patient/family satisfaction and clinical outcomes. $1,025,000

2010 Sep - 2012: Transition into Survivorship: Translating Knowledge into Action for Testicular and Endometrial cancer populations. Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Operating Grant. Collaborator(s): Jones, J., Howell, D. (Co-investigators). $324,307

2013 Jan - 2017 Dec: Canadian Team to Improve Community-Based Cancer Care along the Continuum (CanIMPACT). Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Team Grant: Community-Based Primary Healthcare - ICR/CBCI. PI: GRUNFELD, Eva. Collaborator(s): BUCHMAN, Stephen (Sandy) H; FITCH, Margaret I; GILBERT, Julie E; KERNER, Jon F; MEUSER, James C; SAWKA, Carol A; TURNER, Donna C; WALKS, Fiona; AUBIN, Michèle; BROUWERS, Melissa C; CARROLL, June C; EARLE, Craig C; EISENHAUER, Elizabeth A; FILLION, Lise; GROOME, Patti A; HEISEY, Ruth E; HUSAIN, Amna F; JONES, Jennifer M; KRUEGER, Paul D; KRZYZANOWSKA, Monika K; LOFTERS, Aisha K; MANCA, Donna P; MAXTED, John M; MCBRIDE, Mary L; MIEDEMA, Baukje; MILLER, Fiona A; MITTMANN, Nicole; MOINEDDIN, Rahim; $2,476,364

2010 - 2013 The Continuum of Care in the Home: Enhancing the Competencies of CCAC Case Managers, Home Care Nurses, Family Physicians and Family Health Team Members. Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. PI: Kasperski, J. Collaborator(s): Mottershead, M., VanderBent, S. , Buchman, S. Husain, A. Levinson, A. Darby, D., Marshall, D. Arnold, R. $250,000.

2009 Oct - 2012 Oct: The Better Coalition: Building on Existing Tools to Improve Chronic Disease Prevention in Family Practice. Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP). PI: Grunfeld, E. Collaborator(s): Upshur REG, Manca D et al. (Co-investigators). $2,400,000

NON-PEER-REVIEWED GRANTS
FUNDED
2013 Jul - 2014 Jun Principal Investigator. Equity in Colorectal Cancer Screening. Cancer Care Ontario, Institute of Clinical and Evaluative Sciences & St. Michael’s Hospital. Collaborator(s): Glazier, R. Rosmovitz, L. (Co-Investigators). 40,000 CAD. A quantitative and qualitative study examining the reasons behind the choice of modality for CRC screening used by family physicians in Toronto and its implications for equitable care.