Please Don’t Talk About Aging!!!
July 8, 2016
by: Ken Covinsky @geri_doc A colleague of mine, who is chief of the Geriatrics Division at a major medical school,…
Technology Will Transform Care for Older People: Truth or Hype? (Hint: HYPE)
September 7, 2015
I seem to keep hearing stories about how fancy new technologies will transform care for older persons. Living in the…
Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine: Partners in a Common Mission
November 10, 2014
Over the past decade, the disciplines of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine have become intellectual cousins. Within Palliative Medicine, the recognition…
Urine Catheters in the Hospital: Bad Stuff
September 12, 2014
When I was a resident, it was routine to place urine catheters (a catheter threaded up the urethra, into the…
Behavioral Symptoms of Dementia Should Be Treated WIth Behavioral Approaches
June 9, 2014
Persons with dementia often suffer from behavioral symptoms such as agitation and aggression. For the caregiver, these symptoms can be…
Surrogate Decision Making in the Hospital (Or, That Family Member By the Bed is Much More Than a Visitor)
February 26, 2014
An innovative study in JAMA Internal Medicine on surrogate decision making has profound implications for how we take care of…
The Long Term Care Insurance Con Game
February 4, 2014
Consider this scenario: You are getting older, and are concerned about the costs of nursing homes and long term care.…
The Dementia Caregiver: Improving their Mental Health and Quality of Life
December 5, 2013
There are few harder things than being a caregiver for a family member with dementia. These caregivers are the unsung…
A Better Health System for Frail and Disabled Elders
November 18, 2013
“The current ‘care system’ provides disjointed specialty services, ignores the challenges of living with disabilities, tolerates routine errors in medications…
The Quality of Palliative Care: It Can and Must Be Measured
November 11, 2013
Is it important to provide high quality palliative and supportive care in patients with serious illness? Does it matter if…