Doing the Right Thing and Making It Pay
October 19, 2013
Advanced care and palliative care can reduce healthcare costs for people with serious chronic illness. It’s hard to dispute that…
Specialized Care for Older Hospitalized Adults as a Palliative Care Intervention
October 19, 2013
Hospitals are dangerous places for older adults. Nearly a third of hospitalized older adults are discharged with a new…
A Fascinating Case Over Who Has the Right Over The Remains of a Loved One
September 14, 2013
On June 12, Betty Jean Collins of Warsaw, Missouri, executed a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Choices (DPOA-HC)…
Research Amplifies Need for Patient-Centered Goals of Care Discussion
August 10, 2013
How important is reducing the risk of one ailment if it increases the risk of another? A class of drugs…
How do you teach about Prognostication?
June 27, 2013
Prognostication is one of the most challenging concepts; however, there are some good teaching tools to get you started! A…
Prognostic Disclosure and Other Palliative Care Needs in Dialysis Patients
June 7, 2013
“Doctors are terrible at prognostication.” This is a line that I often hear from other doctors in clinical practice. While…
When Not to Follow an Advance Directive
May 27, 2013
by: Eric Widera (@ewidera) An 85-year-old woman with moderate Alzheimer’s disease who enjoys walking in her nursing home’s garden with…
CPR Discussions and Harm Reduction
May 26, 2013
By: Bree Johnston One issue that I think we have not examined sufficiently is the impact that repeated discussions about…
Discussing CPR: What Makes It So Different?
May 24, 2013
by: Josh Lakin, MD Palliative Care Fellow, UCSF This week has been full of active discussion around “the code”. As…
What Is A “Natural” Death, Anyway?
May 23, 2013
by: Alex Smith, @alexsmithMD Eric kicked off the week posting about a study comparing use of the phrase “Allow Natural…