Hospice Upheaval
November 19, 2009
It never occurred to me until today that enrolling my patients in hospice could cause them harm and distress. What…
The Price of Hospice Rate Cuts
October 23, 2009
It goes without saying one can’t put a price on the last months, weeks and days of a life shared…
Death Panel Redux: Palliative Care Strikes Back
October 13, 2009
The hysteria around “death panels” has largely died down (no pun intended). This largely coincided with the removal of the…
GeriPal Taste Test Part I: Liquid Bowel Medications
September 28, 2009
GeriPal has put together a taste test on “Liquid Bowel Medications” which was inspired from a great selection of comments…
Looking for Posts We Love – Palliative Care Grand Rounds Coming Soon
September 25, 2009
Don’t forget that GeriPal is hosting Palliative Care Grand Rounds on Wednesday, October 7th! The goal of Palliative Care Grand…
Overuse of Pain Medications in Hospice and Palliative Medicine
September 12, 2009
This week’s Lancet includes an article titled “The Death of Ivan Ilyich and pain relief at the end of life”…
A Rant on Terminology
August 27, 2009
News Headlines read: Sen. Edward Kennedy loses battle with cancer. Really, he lost? I thought he died from a malignant…
Colace
August 9, 2009
Colace is a problem at our hospital too. Both because there is not data that it works and because once…
Inappropriate Medications in the Hospice Setting
August 3, 2009
Supportive Care in Cancer recently published an article on the use of “futile” medications in patients with advanced and incurable…