Roger Chou s Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: How the CDCs 2016 Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain Lost Its Clinical and Professional Integrity
by Chad D. Kollas MD, Terri A. Lewis PhD, Beverly Schechtman and Carrie JudyI ' m present. Uh I do have a conflict. I receive funding to conduct reviews on opioids, and I ' ll be recusing myself after the um, director ' s, uh, um, um, uh update.- Dr. Roger Chou, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) Meeting Friday, July 16, 2021.IntroductionFor those familiar with the controversial relationship between the anti-opioid advocacy group, Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP, recently renamed, Health Pro...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - September 17, 2021 Category: Palliative Care Tags: CDC judy kollas lewis opioid pain schechtman Source Type: blogs
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month: Get Educated!
The prostate, a mall organ located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum, can cause men a lot of anxiety and trouble as they age. It wraps around the urethra (the tube that carries urine and semen out of the body). As men age, the prostate tends to grow larger which can eventually cause any number of health issues including urine retention, but it can become cancerous, as well.
Read more on the Egosancares blog about prostate function and why things go wrong:
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “I hold onto your book as a life preserver and am reading it slowly on purpose...I d...
Source: Minding Our Elders - September 4, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Does Our Healthcare System Work for the Most Vulnerable Americans?
By DEBORAH AFEZOLLI, CARL-PHILIPPE ROUSSEAU, HELEN FERNANDEZ, ELIZABETH LINDENBERGER
“Why did you choose this field?” Most physicians are asked this question at some point in their early careers. We are geriatrics and palliative medicine physicians, so when that question is posed to us, it is invariably followed by another: “Isn’t your job depressing?”
No, our job is not depressing. We are trained in the care of older adults and those with serious illness, and we find this work very rewarding. What truly depresses us is how many vulnerable patients died during the pandemic, and how the scourge of COVI...
Source: The Health Care Blog - September 3, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 Medical Practice Patients Physicians Carl-Philippe Rousseau Deborah Afezolli Elizabeth Lindenberger Geriatrics Health policy Helen Fernandez Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
You deserve a doctor who ’s a good fit for you [PODCAST]
“I implore you — even if it’s difficult — if you don’t like your doctor, take the time and find a new one! How do you do that? Check your insurance for who they cover, and then ask your friends who they see and like. Google the physician. Google the practice. Google the hospital. PutRead more …You deserve a doctor who ’s a good fit for you [PODCAST] originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 1, 2021 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/the-podcast-by-kevinmd" rel="tag" > The Podcast by KevinMD < /a > < /span > Tags: Podcast Palliative Care Primary Care Source Type: blogs
Dementia Caregivers Can Find That Managing Incontinence Is One Of the Toughest Challenges
While caring for someone who lives with dementia has many rewarding moments, there are times and situations that can nearly break the caregiver. One of those can be the difficulties of managing incontinence with someone who doesn't understand that cooperation is needed to make it work.
Read more about dementia and incontinence on Egosancares blog:
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “I hold onto your book as a life preserver and am reading it slowly on purpose...I don't want it to end.” ...Craig William Dayton, Film Composer
Egosan wants to help you live your life fully: Try Egosan premiu...
Source: Minding Our Elders - September 1, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
It's Understandable to be Confused about the Difference Between Hospice and Palliative Care: Some Answers
We all know that palliative care and hospice are meant for the end of life, right? Actually, no. Did you know that many people getting treatment for disease or who have chronic but non-life-threatening illnesses can receive palliative care (a form of comfort care) while they are being treated for their disease.
Read more on Egosancares blog to learn about the differences between palliative care and hospice:
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “I hold onto your book as a life preserver and am reading it slowly on purpose...I don't want it to end.” ...Craig William Dayton, Film Compo...
Source: Minding Our Elders - August 28, 2021 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Successfully navigating advance directives to choose your best one
As a surrogate consultant, people often ask me for advice on the best advance directive (AD) to cover their medical and end-of-life (EOL) wishes. Unfortunately, the answer is not that simple. An AD is a “legally recognized” document usually containing a living will spelling out your preferences and treatment options when you cannot speak forRead more …Successfully navigating advance directives to choose your best one originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 24, 2021 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/althea-halchuck" rel="tag" > Althea Halchuck, EJD < /a > < /span > Tags: Patient Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
Why it ’s important for physicians to talk about death
For most care providers, having conversations about end of life comes with certain challenges. Most medical education prioritizes diagnosis and treatment of illness with the goal of extending life; therefore, it can be quite difficult to acknowledge when curing illness or prolonging life are no longer achievable goals. On top of that, it ’s certainly notRead more …Why it ’s important for physicians to talk about death originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 21, 2021 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/fernando-moreno" rel="tag" > Fernando Moreno, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
A conversation on death and hope a pediatric palliative care physician
As rising fourth-year medical students, we talked about caring for dying patients with Dr. Angie Anderson (AA), a pediatric palliative care specialist. An abridged version of our conversation is transcribed below. Lindsey Pileika (LP): Honored to speak with you, Dr. Anderson. I just wanted to preface our interview with experiences that I ’m bringing to thisRead more …A conversation on death and hope a pediatric palliative care physician originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 1, 2021 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/angie-anderson-amador-delamerced-lindsey-pileika" rel="tag" > Angie Anderson, MD, Amador Delamerced, and Lindsey Pileika < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
Shift Happens
Dataset shift can thwart the best intentions of algorithm developers and tech-savvy clinicians, but there are solutions.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.Generalizability has always been a concern in health care, whether we ’re discussing the application of clinical trials or machine-learning based algorithms. A large randomized controlled trial that finds an intensive lifestyle program doesn’t reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications in Type 2 diabetics, for instance, suggests the...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - July 28, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs
How Spiritfarer Helped Me Through the Pandemic
by Matthew Tyler (@PalliDad)During what can only be described as a challenging year, I found Thunderlotus ’s gameSpiritfarer just in the nick of time. In this “cozy management game about dying,” you assume the role of a young woman named Stella who is charged with shuttling spirits to the gates of the afterlife. Unexpectedly,Spiritfarer served as both an escape from and means of processing my experience as a healthcare worker during the pandemic.From top to bottom,Spiritfarer exudes tranquility. The animations are bright and vibrant, and the music is soothing yet melancholy, invoking nostalgia for younger innocent da...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - July 14, 2021 Category: Palliative Care Tags: covid grief palliative care pandemic Tyler video games Source Type: blogs
If Ever There Was A Poorly Framed Regulation With Unintended Consequences This Is It!
Telemedicine has done a very useful job in improving access to medical care during COVID Times. That said there are some silly things happening out there: This appeared last week: Doctors urged not to discuss 'effect of lethal substances' in VAD telehealth consults They may risk breaking the federal law, says palliative care physician Dr Roger Hunt 8th July 2021 By Kemal Atlay Doctors in WA have been warned to avoid talking about lethal substances, what is involved in taking them or their effects when conducting telehealth consults with terminally ill patients considering voluntary assisted dying. The advice follows t...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - July 14, 2021 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
Knowledge gaps for working together
Whenever we work with someone living with pain, we form a team. A team, by definition, is “a distinguishable set of two or more people who interact dynamically, interdependently, and adaptively towards a common and valued goal/objective/mission” (Salas et al., 1992). So while many clinicians work outside an interprofessional team, they are always working in a team consisting of at least the person with pain, and themselves.
There’s a good deal of research on teamwork, and a heap of references in pain management literature on the benefits and, indeed, the need, to work in a team for best outcomes (both in terms...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - June 27, 2021 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Interdisciplinary teams Professional topics Research Science in practice pain management teamwork Source Type: blogs
Emotional agility is an essential element for patients and practitioners
An excerpt from Grief Connects Us: A Neurosurgeon’s Lessons on Love, Loss, and Compassion. Brene ́ Brown describes the importance of allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and holds up the surgeon as an example of someone who is exempted from this by the technical nature of their work. Yet, as I have come to appreciate, itRead more …Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 21, 2021 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/joseph-d-stern" rel="tag" > Joseph D. Stern, MD, PhD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
Two Ways to Share your Palliative Care and Hospice Stories
by Christian Sinclair (@ctsinclair)This past few days, I came across two great opportunities that I wanted to share with a wider audience of hospice and palliative care clinicians.First is the podcast and radio show, Radiolab. I ' ve always appreciated the nuance and simplicity the creators can bring to complex issues. They are looking for voice memos from people who work in end-of-life care. They are also looking for patients and families who have been impacted by this work. All you have to do is record a 60-seconds or less voice memo and email it to wnycradiolab@gmail.com. Make sure to include your name, city, and your p...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - June 14, 2021 Category: Palliative Care Tags: media sinclair The profession Source Type: blogs
