Robert M. Arnold, MD

Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine
Medical Director, UPMC Palliative and Supportive Institute
Director, Institute for Doctor-Patient Communication, University of Pittsburgh

Bio

Robert M. Arnold, MD, is Professor and Vice Chair of Faculty Development in the Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai. As a board-certified internist, he is clinically active in inpatient and ambulatory palliative care.

He completed his medical school training at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and residency at Rhode Island Hospital. Subsequently he has been on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2000, Dr. Arnold was named the first Leo H. Creip Chair of Patient Care. The chair emphasizes the importance of the doctor-patient relationship, particularly at the end of life. He is the Director of the Institute for Doctor-Patient Communication and the Medical Director of the UPMC Palliative and Supportive Institute. He is clinically active in palliative care.

Dr. Arnold has published on end-of-life care, hospice and palliative care, doctor-patient communication and ethics education. His current research interests are focused on educational interventions to improve communication in life-limiting illnesses and better understanding how ethical precepts are operationalized in clinical practice. He is currently working with the UPMC Health System to develop system-wide, integrative palliative services throughout the health system. He is the Past-President of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities as well as the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.