“Can’t go home, can’t be admitted” – the emergency room purgatory
January 30, 2014
A 92-year-old woman with a history of stroke comes to an emergency department and is found to have fractures of…
Antibiotics in hospice
January 15, 2014
by: Alex Smith @AlexSmithMD Case 1: You have a 94 year old woman with multiple medical problems in hospice who…
Does vitamin E and/or memantine help in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease?
January 2, 2014
Alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) and dementia have had a long and confusing history. For the prevention of dementia, Vitamin E has…
How Your Name Can Influence Your Health
December 13, 2013
“We find ourselves in something of a quandary when it comes to making up our minds about the phenomenon which…
Communication training: is simulation enough?
December 5, 2013
A video example of palliative care communication techniques in the wrong hands by: Alex Smith, @AlexSmithMD Major paper in JAMA…
Celebrating in Stillness
December 2, 2013
by: Brad Stuart MD Thanksgiving dinner at our place was loud, as only 3 generations of people can make it…
10 Serious Illnesses & the Number of Times "Palliative Care" Was Mentioned In Wikipedia #HPM
November 22, 2013
Every time I listen or talk to Diane Meier I get inspired. Today was no different. She inspired me to…
Oral Ketamine for Depression and Anxiety in Hospice
November 21, 2013
by: Alex Smith, @alexsmithMD Journal of Palliative Medicine recently published a nice exploratory open label study of daily oral ketamine…
Should My Patient Get an Amyloid PET Scan for the Diagnosis of Alzheimers?
November 19, 2013
In April, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved florbetapir F-18 (Amyvid) PET scans to identify areas of accumulation of…
Literature Potpourri
October 26, 2013
by: Alex Smith, @AlexSmithMD Ronald Reagan died in 2004 of advanced dementia Some great paper GeriPal readers should be award…