Current Topics in Primary Care and Palliative Care

Dale A. Matthews, MD, FACP has served on the faculties of Yale University, the University of Connecticut, and Georgetown University and has lectured at over 30 medical schools. He gives lectures on primary care general internal medicine, the doctor-patient relationship, and the psychological and spiritual dimensions of medicine, including the role of religion, faith, and prayer in clinical care. He is the author of The Faith Factor: Proof of the Healing Power of Prayer (Viking, 1998), a four-volume research work (The Faith Factor: An Annotated Bibliography of Clinical Research on Spiritual Subjects), three documentaries, and over 65 peer-reviewed scientific articles, book chapters, and other publications. Dr. Matthews is a graduate of Princeton (AB, cum laude, Romance Languages, 1976) and Duke University School of Medicine (1980). His internship and residency in internal medicine took place at the University of Connecticut (1980-3) and he completed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar Program and Fellowship in Clinical Epidemiology at Yale (1983-5). In 1989, he was named the George Morris Piersol Teaching and Research Scholar of the American College of Physicians. He has received many awards for his compassionate patient care, including Washingtonian Magazine Top Doctor recognition. He has appeared on numerous television shows, including the Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, and Good Morning America. He lives in McLean, Virginia with his wife, Demetra, a certified public accountant. He has two adult children and three grandchildren. He enjoys family and church activities, Bible study and teaching, golf, baseball, piano, singing, songwriting, ballroom dancing, travel, and photography.

Dr. Kagan earned two Bachelors' Degrees: Biology, and Health Sciences, a Masters' Degree in Physiology, and his M.D. degree. Prior to medical school he was a Certified Physician Assistant. He completed his residency in Primary Care Internal Medicine. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and previously held a second board certification in Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine. He is also a Certified Medical Director (CMD) for Long Term Care by The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (PALTC formerly known as AMDA). Dr. Kagan is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. He currently teaches medical, physician assistant, nurse practitioner students and internal medicine residents. Dr. Kagan is frequently called upon by his peers regarding the Business Aspects and Practice Management of Medicine, and is a member of the Editorial Board of Medical Economics. He has done consulting for attorneys, insurance companies, as well as pharmaceutical and wealth management companies. In addition to his busy private primary care practice, Dr. Kagan is currently the medical director of a skilled nursing facility, some group homes, and previously a home health agency and a hospice agency. He was previously a Professional Director with HAVEN, an agency that advocates and monitors impaired health professionals. He has served as an Expert Witness for both plaintiff and defendant sides of malpractice cases. His special interests include: Diving Medicine, Business Aspects of Practice, Medical Legal Cases, Risk Management, Medical Trivia and Impaired Health Professionals. His hobbies include: Bicycling, Boating, Scuba diving, Golf and Skiing.