Surgical decision-making for elders: GeriBoards, prehab, and other great ideas
August 8, 2014
by: Alex Smith, @alexsmithMD A while back people realized that outcomes of surgery in older people were probably better than previously…
Potpourri from clinical work VII
August 6, 2014
by: Alex Smith, @alexsmithMD The following are some reflections from being on service recently. Not enough time to develop these…
Hospice patients should have access to physical therpay to improve function
July 22, 2014
by: Alex Smith, @alexsmithMD I’m going to acknowledge up front that this is a rant. One of the skilled nursing…
After Pronouncing
June 30, 2014
The following post is adapted from something I read at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Geriatrics, Palliative, and Extended Care…
What to do when your patient is racist?
April 22, 2014
by: Alex Smith, @alexsmithMD I’d like GeriPal reader’s help with an issue that has vexed me since medical school. As…
3 Blogs Waiting to be Started: PediPal, PalliTech, and GeriPal EM
March 24, 2014
Every once and a while Eric and I are contacted by people hoping to start a blog. Sometime people follow…
On Cooks and Cookbooks: Failure of a Palliative Care Pathway
October 30, 2013
by: Alex Smith @AlexSmithMD Wouldn’t it be great if we came up with a standardized approach to caring for hospitalized…
Dr. Lee’s Miracle Dementia Regimen
April 18, 2013
Evidence is mounting that regular exercise may prevent dementia and reduce the decline in physical function associated with dementia. Dr. Covinsky…
Terminal Delirium: Fatalism and Intellectual Laziness?
March 2, 2013
In 1996, Catherine Sarkisian described the common geriatric diagnosis “failure to thrive” as the result of fatalism and intellectual laziness…
What is your patient’s PPD status?
February 21, 2013
Bree Johnston, a true believer in geriatrics and palliative care, contributor to GeriPal, and erstwhile colleague at UCSF, recently returned…