Christopher A. Jones, MD, FAAHPM, MBA
Palliative Medicine Specialist
My Locations
About Me
I started my health care career during college as a nursing assistant in a nursing home in Pennsylvania. During my training at Brown University, I came to discover that my true passion was caring for people with serious illness and spent the first decade of my career in hospitals, providing palliative services to patients admitted to the floors or intensive care units. Since then, missing longer-term relationships with patients, I've spent more time on the outpatient side of palliative care, working to partner with those with serious or advanced illnesses to help make life better. Whether treating pain, constipation, nausea, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, fatigue, poor appetite, poor sleep, or any other symptoms making people feel lousy, I aim to use medicines and non-medicine strategies to improve quality of life and function. I also support everyone's Plan A of getting better and back to normal life and Plan B if things don't go as we hope. Helping someone become well enough to take a trip to the beach or the mountains or play a bit more with their kids or grandkids is what makes me tick!
- Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care 2024
Call for an Appointment
Ratings and Reviews
The ratings and reviews are based on patient responses to the overall provider rating question from the survey. The question reads: “Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst provider possible and 10 is the best provider possible, what number would you use to rate this provider?” Responses are converted to a 5-point rating system and applied consistently to all providers. Learn more about our survey process. Patients who see some types of providers receive a different version of the patient satisfaction survey. Those results are not available on DukeHealth.org.
Training and Education
Clinical Focus and Research
I study ways to help people to make their medical wishes available to their families and loved ones. I also help other palliative care and hospice programs to improve the services they provide to their patients and get paid for the work that they do.
- Patient Perspectives on Palliative Care in Rheumatology awarded by Rheumatology Research Foundation 2024 - 2025
- Informing Decisions in Chronic Critical Illness: An RCT awarded by Mount Sinai School of Medicine 2010 - 2016
- Hadler, Rachel A., Rachel Klinedinst, Christopher A. Jones, Yuhua Bao, Ravi Pathak, Ali J. Zarrabi, and William E. Rosa. “Dangerous Variation or Patient-Centered Care? Palliative Care and Pain Providers' Comfort, Experiences, and Approaches when Treating Cancer Pain With Coexisting Aberrant Behaviors.” Am J Hosp Palliat Care 42, no. 5 (May 2025): 489–503. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091241259034.
- Herndon, Shannon, Jack Kimball, Christopher Jones, and David Leverenz. “Referrals in Focus: A Retrospective Study of Palliative Care Referrals from Rheumatology Providers at an Academic Medical Center.” J Palliat Med, March 3, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2024.0403.
- Robbins-Welty, Gregg A., Danielle Chammas, Ethan J. Silverman, Maria Felton Lowry, Elizabeth Hale, Corina Martinez, Morgan M. Nakatani, et al. “Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Diagnosing, Categorizing, and Addressing Fatigue.” J Palliat Med 28, no. 3 (March 2025): 389–96. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2024.0232.
- Brown, H. L., and C. A. Jones. “General symptom overview: Importance of side effect management, CINV, anorexia, and cachexia.” In Palliative Radiation Oncology, 289–98, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-87688-9.00034-9.
- Kim, J. Y., J. C. Dalton, N. Cort, J. E. Herndon, M. L. Affronti, K. B. Peters, C. A. Jones, and M. O. Johnson. “Comparing Knowledge and Perceptions of Palliative Care Among Neuro-Oncology Patients, Caregivers, and Providers to a Representative U.S. Sample.” In American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091241280610.
- Jones, Christopher, Kirstin Manges, Teresa Tran, and Casey Whitman. “Moving "OurCareWishes" to the Bedside: A Step-Wedge Pragmatic Trial.” In JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT, 63:1077–1077, 2022.
- Jones, Christopher, and Phillip Rodgers. “Not Your Granddaddy's Billing and Coding Rules: Changes in 2022 and Beyond.” In JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT, 63:776–77, 2022.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)**
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
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**Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.