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…
The Clinician as the Choice Architect – Nudging an Informed Choice About CPR
May 23, 2013
by: Eric Widera (@ewidera) In the first two posts of “code discussion week” we talked about how preferences for cardiopulmonary…
Changing the Default Code Status to DNR for Seriously Ill Patients
May 21, 2013
by: Alex Smith @alexsmithMD What if the above form was the default for patients with serious illness? Most current advance directive…
It’s all in the Framing: How to Influence Surrogates’ Code Status Decisions
May 20, 2013
by: Eric Widera (@ewidera) We intuitively know that the words we choose when talking about whether or not to attempt…
When Staying Silent is No Longer Acceptable
May 9, 2013
A Guantanamo detainee’s feet are shackled to the floor, April 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Michelle Shephard, Pool) (Credit: Associated Press) Recent…
#AGS13: Views of Geriatrics and Palliative Care from Four Continents
April 30, 2013
This years’ American Geriatrics Society (AGS) meeting in Grapevine, Texas, is fast approaching. The schedule is jam packed with great…
Do patients need to know they are terminally ill?
April 26, 2013
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has published a couple of interesting pieces this week that might interest you (controversy alert…
$10,000 Design Challenge to Improve the Communication of End-of-life Preferences
April 23, 2013
Do you have any good ideas on how to get more people to complete advance directives early, re-visit them periodically,…
Should Failure to Follow Preferences be a Medical Error? #NHDD Question
April 16, 2013
Today is National Healthcare Decisions Day. The day was created as “an initiative to encourage patients to express their wishes…
Three Things to Put Your Name Behind in Geriatrics and Palliative Care
March 25, 2013
Dr. Tatum with Sen. Blunt 1. The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA) We have written about PCHETA…