‘Tis the Season: The BMJ Christmas Edition
December 21, 2011
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, not because those damn kids jingle belling and everyone telling you…
SIT DOWN!!
December 12, 2011
Sometimes the best ideas are so simple that you both marvel at their eloquence and wonder why you never thought…
Discussing Prognosis When Longevity Is the Only Life Limiting Condition
December 7, 2011
I think we all probably agree that health care providers should give patients with a life limiting illness the option…
Potpourri from Clinical Work V
December 6, 2011
The following observations and questions came up during my recent work as palliative care attending. Thoughts and responses are welcome:…
Treating Pain to Reduce Behavioral Disturbances in Dementia
December 5, 2011
There have been a lot of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions proposed for the all too common behavioral complications of dementia…
Too Much of A Good Thing
November 26, 2011
There is an estimated 6.7 million emergency hospitalizations every year in the US. One out of every 67 of these…
The Hospital Disability Syndrome
November 20, 2011
Ken Covinsky previously posted on GeriPal a while back about the dangers of hospitalization in older adults. Ken notes…
Quality Indicators Can Cause Harm in Older Patients: An Inconvenient Truth
November 13, 2011
Quality indicators are used to measure the quality of health care delivered to patients. Quality indicators are used extensively in…
What Drugs Should You Avoid In the Elderly: An Update on the Beers Criteria
November 11, 2011
Dr. Mark Beers Should you always avoid the use of metaclopromide in the elderly (I still use it in some…
Is hospital observation status the new pathway to frailty?
November 4, 2011
Have you noticed that your hospital is using the observation status more instead of simply admitting the patient? Three recent…