Hey Dr. Emanuel: you might not want to die when you’re 75!
September 20, 2014
by: Alex Smith, @alexsmithMD You may have heard of a new article in the Atlantic by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel provocatively…
New IOM Report on Dying in America
September 18, 2014
by: Alex Smith @alexsmithMD I’d like to draw GeriPal readers’ attention to the new report issued by the Institute of…
Competitive Bidding? Is it really competitive or making it harder for patients to get what they need
September 16, 2014
Over the last few months, ever since Medicare started its competitive bidding process my colleagues and I, in the UCSF Housecalls…
A False Hope: Artificial Nutrition in the Dying Patient
September 16, 2014
My patient was dying and his family was terrified. Riddled with abdominal tumors and engorged gastric blood vessels, Mr. G,…
Using the Skills Learned at VITALtalk to Take Out the Trash
September 14, 2014
We just spent the last several days learning facilitation skills at the VITALtalk faculty development course. This truly amazing course…
Urine Catheters in the Hospital: Bad Stuff
September 12, 2014
When I was a resident, it was routine to place urine catheters (a catheter threaded up the urethra, into the…
Handshakes, handholding, and other dangerous methods of transmitting bacteria
September 10, 2014
by: Alex Smith @AlexSmithMD In a recent study in the American Journal of Infection Control, researchers coated a gloved hand in…
The Advanced Direct Care Worker – A New Profession for a Growing Older Population
September 9, 2014
With 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 every day, the fastest growing jobs in the country are also some of the…
Knocking on Heaven’s Door: A Book Review
September 9, 2014
“Knocking on Heaven’s Door” by Katie Butler is a book that will resonate with most of our GeriPal readership. In…
Is Deactivating a Cardiac Pacemaker Euthanasia?
September 4, 2014
“He’d feel okay about not replacing the pacemaker’s battery when it ran down, he said. But turning it off, he…