Dementia Village: Dignified Care in an Experimental Town
March 6, 2014
Tragedies at the end of life come in many shapes and sizes. For Betty, an elderly woman with end stage…
“Honoring Choices” in PACE programs
March 5, 2014
This is the way it went: a group of familiar faces, some family, some professional care providers, gathered around the…
Surrogate Decision Making in the Hospital (Or, That Family Member By the Bed is Much More Than a Visitor)
February 26, 2014
An innovative study in JAMA Internal Medicine on surrogate decision making has profound implications for how we take care of…
Tell CMS to protect appropriate palliative care prescribing
February 25, 2014
Attention all Geriatric, Palliative Medicine, and Primary Care Providers: Act now to prevent the adoption of strict, punitive regulations impacting…
Ramelteon for the prevention of delirium in the hospital
February 23, 2014
About half of the patients that I saw on or palliative care consult service last week were delirious. This is…
Why is Forest Laboratories discontinuing Namenda?
February 20, 2014
Why is Forest Laboratories discontinuing Namenda (memantine HCl) 5 mg and 10 mg tablets on August 15, 2014? Is it because…
An Older Pedestrian Fights Back
February 10, 2014
Older pedestrians are more likely to be killed while walking than those under 65 years of age. A lot has…
The Long Term Care Insurance Con Game
February 4, 2014
Consider this scenario: You are getting older, and are concerned about the costs of nursing homes and long term care…
“Can’t go home, can’t be admitted” – the emergency room purgatory
January 30, 2014
A 92-year-old woman with a history of stroke comes to an emergency department and is found to have fractures of…
Still Needed: Guidance for the “GeriPal” Patient with Heart Failure
January 30, 2014
As a (geriatric) primary care provider and (palliative medicine) specialist who cares for patients with heart failure (HF), the 2013…