Medicine In Translation
February 12, 2010
“But what will you be doing to cure my disease?” the interpreter said, relaying the words of our patient. Was…
Feeding Tubes in Advanced Dementia: It’s all About Location
February 10, 2010
Feeding tubes are often placed in the hospital setting for patients with advanced dementia, even though there is pretty much a lack…
The Cultural Distance Between Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
February 5, 2010
I just read Chris Feudtner’s brief piece, “The Breadth of Hopes,” in the New England Journal. Among other things, the…
Persistent Vegetative State: An apt description for the media coverage of PVS
February 4, 2010
The New England Journal of Medicine released a study today revealing some awareness in a minority of patients diagnosed with…
What a nursing assistant will tell us…if we ask
January 29, 2010
A friend recently forwarded me an update to a story first reported in the Washington Post in May 2009 about…
Mammograms in Women with Dementia: What’s the Problem?
January 29, 2010
All Posts · Cancer · Care Managers · Dementia · Geriatrics · Mental Health · Primary Care · Prognosis · Screening · Seniors
A study in the American Journal of Public Healthexamining mammogram use in older persons found that 18% of women with…
Morphine Sulfate oral solution is now FDA approved
January 27, 2010
Morphine sulfate oral solution is now FDA approved thanks to a concerted effort by many in the hospice and palliative…
“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.…
Post Traumatic Stress in Late Life
January 18, 2010
Over the past year, I have had several 80+ patients, combat veterans of WWII, who have had very significant symptoms…
Evidence-Based Medicine in Clinically Complex Elders – Barking up the Wrong Tree?
January 7, 2010
For years, many academics (myself included) have decried the lack of rigorous clinical trial evidence to inform the care of…