Empathy Video
June 25, 2013
by: Alex Smith I’m interested in people’s reactions to the video called “Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care” produced…
Appearances can be deceiving: aging, homelessness, and acute care
June 17, 2013
Before reading any further, stop to think about the last older homeless adult you saw. If you are a…
Hospice and the Transgendered
June 12, 2013
by: Robert Killeen MD Hospice is beset by many societal obstacles in its care of the transgendered patient. I saw…
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…
Clinical Trials Discriminate Against Older Persons with Diabetes
June 3, 2013
by: Ken Covinsky (@geri_doc) Over half of persons with type 2 Diabetes are over the age of 65. You would…
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…
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…