Ebtesam (Sammi) Ahmed

Ebtesam (Sammi) Ahmed, is a Clinical Professor for the Department of Clinical Health Professions at St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in New York City, New York, USA. In conjugation with her faculty appointment, she is a Clinical Pharmacist at the Supportive Oncology Clinic for Mount Sinai Medical Center, Department of Geriatric and Palliative Care. She earned her doctorate in pharmacy (PharmD) from St. John's University and completed a post-graduate pharmacy residency at the University of California, San Francisco. She holds a master's degree in bioethics from Columbia University. She is a Board-Certified Medication Therapy Management Specialist (BCMTMS) and a Fulbright Specialist Scholar. Following her residency, she joined the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care (DPMPC) at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. She became the first clinical pharmacist to provide clinical pharmacy services for the DPMPC. She then moved to MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care, where she served on numerous committees, including research, educational, pharmacy, therapeutic (P&T), and ethics.

For more than a decade, Dr. Ahmed has taught globally to pharmacists, physicians, and health care professionals; she has conducted numerous training workshops in pain management, palliative care, ethics, and end-of-life care. She has presented at national and international medical conferences. She is particularly interested in pharmacists' role in palliative care and global access to controlled substances for pain management. She is a co-author of the first comprehensive guidelines for managing chronic pain in people living with HIV issued by the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). She has authored many book chapters and peer-reviewed articles on pain management and other topics. She is a member of the Regional Expert Network on Palliative Care – World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (WHO-EMRO); her role is to develop policies that advocate for increased availability, accessibility, and affordability of controlled substances for palliative care patients in the region.

Dr. Ahmed joined the IAHPC Board of Directors in 2019. She is a member of the Best Practices Manual Committee and the Individual Recognition Awards Committee. 

Away from palliative care, she enjoys spending time with family, teaching yoga, reading, and traveling.

Twitter: @EAhmedPharmD

Most Recent Publications

  1. Rosa WE, Ahmed E, Chaila MJ, Chansa A, Cordoba MA, Dowla R, Gafer N, Khan F, Namisango E, Rodriguez L, Knaul FM, Pettus KI. Can You Hear Us Now? Equity in Global Advocacy for Palliative Care. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022; 64(4): e217-e226.
  2. Glajchen M, Handzo G, Ahmed E. Teaching and Training in Palliative Social Work, Chaplaincy and Pharmacy. In: Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine (6th ed.) Oxford University Press, 2021.
  3. Ahmed E. The Contribution of the Clinical Pharmacist in Palliative Care. In: Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine (6th ed.). Oxford University Press, 2021.
  4. Portenoy RK, Ahmed E, Patel M. Adjuvant Analgesics: Principles of Use. In: Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine (6th ed.) Oxford University Press, 2021.
  5. Ahmed, E. Access to Controlled Medications: Three Country Case Reports. J Illicit Economies Development 2021; 2(1): 1-9.
  6. Ahmed, E. Electroencephalography (EEG). In: A Medication Guide to Internal Medicine Test and Procedure (1st ed.) Elsevier Press, 2021.
  7. Portenoy R, Ahmed E, Krom C. Assessment and Management of Pain. In: Palliative Care Medicine for Physician Assistants: Fostering resilience and managing seriously ill patients. Oxford University Press, 2021.
  8. Dhingra L, Schiller R, Teets R, Nosal S, Dieckmann NF, Ginzburg R, Ahmed E, Chen J, Rodriguez S, Schroff N, Shuman S, DiFiglia S, Portenoy R. Pain Management in Primary Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Computerized Decision Support Tool. Am J Med 2021; 134(12): 1546-1554.  
  9. Pettus K, Cleary JF, de Lima L, Ahmed E, Radbruch L. Availability of Internationally Controlled Essential Medicines in the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Pain Symptom Manage 2020; 60(2): e48-e51.
  10. Portenoy RK, Ahmed E. Cancer Pain Syndromes. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 2018; 32(3): 371-386.