Medical Foster Homes: An exciting alternative to Nursing home care
December 21, 2012
A frail older patient has reached the point that living independently at home is no longer possible and family are…
The Business of Selling Hope
December 15, 2012
This is the third post to be loosely inspired by our recent trip to the Coalition for Compassionate Care of…
Man Dies after Cowardly Battle with Cancer
December 14, 2012
Full credit to the Onion for the title idea for this post, and thanks to James Mittelberger for the tip.…
The Disconnect Between the Advance Care Planning Needs of the Healthcare System and the Needs of Patients
December 11, 2012
I recently attended the California Coalition for Compassionate Care’s (CCCC), Physicians’ Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) meeting last week.…
Parenteral Fluids at the End of Life
December 6, 2012
It is better to die dry than wet. At least that is the gist of traditional thinking in hospice and…
Bereavement Does Not Immunize the Grieving Person Against Major Depression
December 4, 2012
This is a guest post by Dr. Ronald Pies in response to this week’s GeriPal post about the removal of…
Star Wars, Behavioral Economics, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care
December 3, 2012
Obi-Wan: “These are not the droids you’re looking for.” Stormtrooper: “These are not the droids we’re looking for.” Obi-Wan: “He…
DSM-5: Grieving Over the Loss of the Bereavement Exclusion
December 2, 2012
Have you been tearful and sad after the death of a loved one? Did you notice changes in appetite, difficulty…
Bed Alarms in Hospitalized Patients: Useless
November 30, 2012
Many older patients fall in the hospital and these falls often lead to injury. Hospitals are under a lot of…
The new brain scan for Alzheimer’s: what’s early certainty worth?
November 27, 2012
Last week the NY Times story on a new scan that identifies Alzheimer’s in the brain caught my eye, and…