Death Panel Legacy
January 5, 2011
Yesterday, legislation that would have reimbursed physicians for advance care planning discussions was stripped from Medicare regulations related to the…
One Failing of POLST – “Full Treatment” is Needed for All Patients
September 22, 2010
Medicine is much like politics. Both fields have an affinity to condense complicated multifaceted issues into value-laden phrases that add…
Advance Care Planning: A Paradigm Shift
August 30, 2010
What is the purpose of Advance Care Planning? I have been taught to view the goal as helping patients define…
The breadth of life-sustaining treatment
June 25, 2010
In a recent story in the New York Times, Katy Butler described her parents’ experiences with illness, the health care…
Health Status Does Not Equal Quality of LIfe
June 3, 2010
Advance Care Planning · Communication · End-of-Life · Geriatrics · Healthcare · Quality of Life · Relationships · Research · Seniors
If you asked clinical researchers to describe the most important advances in research methodology over the past generation, many would…
Advance directives say “I’m not dead yet”
May 3, 2010
“Enough. The living will has failed, and it is time to say so.” So said Angela Fagerlin and Carl Schneider…
POLST: Standardizing End-of-Life Orders rather than Patient Communication
April 20, 2010
Over the last 30 years we have tried to standardize patient communication about end-of-life issues though the utilization of statutory…
An ER Physician’s Take on DNR Orders
April 13, 2010
It is a story that happens all too frequently in a fragmented healthcare system. A woman with cancer on chemotherapy…
“Do not punctuate the end of your life with a senseless act of brutality!”
January 22, 2010
Words have power. Language has power. The words we use may comfort or shock, allay or provoke, sooth or batter…
Potpourri from clinical work
November 10, 2009
I’ve been attending on our hospital’s palliative care service. Several things have been on my mind, and although I don’t…