A bad death: the importance of truth-telling at end-of-life
“Death would not be called bad, O people, if one knew how to truly die.” — Nanak Her funeral was yesterday, and there was a huge turn-out. She was 67 and never cussed or said a bad word about anyone. She was much-friended and well-loved. In late January 2022, she was diagnosed with stage-4 cancerRead more …A bad death: the importance of truth-telling at end-of-life originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 19, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/althea-halchuck" rel="tag" data-wpel-link="internal" > Althea Halchuck, EJD < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
Losing my first patient
I had known AR for eight days before she passed away. AR’s medical record was littered with phrases all too familiar in the field of medicine: she had“poor insight into the severity of her disease” and was“insisting on all resuscitation measures despite poor prognosis.” But quite frankly, I could not blame her. SheRead more …Losing my first patient originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 8, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/allie-poles" rel="tag" > Allie Poles < /a > < /span > Tags: Education Hospital-Based Medicine Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
Palliative care: Most doctors do not know how to talk to their patients
“If you don’t let us go home because of the vomiting, his time is running out … I don’t want him to be at a point where there is nothing else to do, and I don’t want him to go home at that point,” said J’s mom.“Am I crazy to want to see thisRead more …Palliative care: Most doctors do not know how to talk to their patients originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 5, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/anonymous" rel="tag" > Anonymous < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
Does your patient advocate have access to stop the medicalized death train?
My mom has Alzheimer’s dementia and lives in memory care. During her February 4th, 2022 health visit, her chart reflected stage FAST 7A (a 7-step staging system for dementia). I am her patient advocate, durable power of attorney for health care (DPOA-HC) that was activated two years ago. I was clear with her care teamRead more …Does your patient advocate have access to stop the medicalized death train? originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 1, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/l-raquel-clary-lantis" rel="tag" > L. Raquel Clary-Lantis, DO < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
Patients need palliative care to manage the pain of sickle cell disease [PODCAST]
“Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects about 100,000 Americans as an inherited genetic disorder with intermittent exacerbations requiring hospitalization. SCD is also a painful and complicated disease with no single physician specialist that can provide pain relief. While SCD pain is similar in severity to cancer pain, patients struggle to find adequate pain relief because theyRead more …Patients need palliative care to manage the pain of sickle cell disease [PODCAST] originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 25, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/the-podcast-by-kevinmd" rel="tag" > The Podcast by KevinMD < /a > < /span > Tags: Podcast Oncology/Hematology Source Type: blogs
Opioid Equianalgesic Tables are Broken
by Drew Rosielle (@drosielle)I am proposing we do away with equianalgesic table (EAT) as a tool to inform clinical decisions about opioid rotations/conversions. Fundamentally, EATs create too many problems, and there are simpler and safer ways to teach clinicians how to convert between different opioids.Part 1: New Data Can ' t Fix the EATA couple HPM fellows every year ask me which table do I prefer to use —the old EAT or the new one? By the old one, they refer to the table most of us used or were at least deeply familiar with for the last 10-20 years. By the new one, they mean the one created by Dr. Mary Lynn McPherson...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - March 21, 2022 Category: Palliative Care Tags: opioid pain rosielle Source Type: blogs
Hospital Systems: A Framework for Maximizing Social Benefit
Conclusion
We do not propose this performance framework as a regulatory guide for state or federal authorities. Rather it is presented as a voluntary alternative for managements and Boards seeking to demonstrate the community benefits created by their institutions.
At their best, large health systems can deliver sophisticated, complex care to their communities. But they can also play a key role with community partners in addressing the social determinants of health, thus reducing per capita health cost. Large multi-billion health systems are here to stay. The conversation about how to enhance the health ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 21, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy Hospitals Health Systems Ian Morrison Jeff Goldsmith Source Type: blogs
Complicated grief: the hidden pandemic in health care workers
As a hospice and palliative care physician, grief is a familiar concept to me. It is most often discussed in the context of loss of life. However, grief at the root is simply profound and agonizing distress caused by loss— any loss. In hospice and palliative care, we train to recognize risk factors forRead more …Complicated grief: the hidden pandemic in health care workers originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 15, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/post-author/cathi-whaley" rel="tag" > Cathi Whaley, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
A soul that never loses faith
I am so tired. Not in the usual“hard day at work,” but in a“deep-in-my-soul” tired. I am exhausted. I am heading into my third year as system medical director, where I lead a system-wide palliative medicine program in rural health. As in many rural systems, we have issues with broad geographic spread coupledRead more …A soul that never loses faith originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 24, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/patricia-m-fogelman" rel="tag" > Patricia M. Fogelman, DNP < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions COVID Hospital-Based Medicine Infectious Disease Source Type: blogs
How do we explain the end-of-life rally?
Granny Rachel, my husband’s mother, was an old country soul. She was a simple lady who loved the Lord. She accepted me with open arms when my own parents turned their backs on me. Granny Rachel made the best sweet tea and the best homemade vegetable soup with cornbread and gave unconditional love to all.Read more …How do we explain the end-of-life rally? originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 24, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/debbie-moore-black" rel="tag" > Debbie Moore-Black, RN < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
A crushing blow in a workplace I loved
My gut churned, a burning rose into my chest as I read the email. It’s happening again repeated on a reel in my mind, followed by I need to leave this job. But I wasn’t quitting. I was triggered. It was years after I’d had the rug pulled out from under me at an institution where I’d spentRead more …A crushing blow in a workplace I loved originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 10, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/eve-makoff" rel="tag" > Eve Makoff, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
THCB Gang Episode 82, Thursday Feb 10th, 1pm PT 4pm ET
Joining Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) on #THCBGang for an hour of conversation on the happenings in health care and beyond will be writer Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard), delivery & tech expert Vince Kuraitis (@VinceKuraitis); and policy consultant/author Rosemarie Day (@Rosemarie_Day1).
Rosemarie has very recently had some personal experiences with end of life care. Expect us to talk a lot about hospice and palliative care (and dementia) and, as Rosemarie says, about how little people seem to know about these incredibly important topics.
You can see the video below. If you’d rather listen than watch, the audio is prese...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 10, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Abdul Ghafar Tags: THCB Gang End of Life Care Kim Bellard Matthew Holt rosemarie day Vince Kuraitis Source Type: blogs
THCB Gang Episode 82, Thursday Feb 10th
Joining Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) on #THCBGang for an hour of conversation on the happenings in health care and beyond were writer Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard), delivery & tech expert Vince Kuraitis (@VinceKuraitis); and policy consultant/author Rosemarie Day (@Rosemarie_Day1).
Rosemarie very recently had some personal experiences with end of life care. We talked a lot about hospice and palliative care (and dementia) and, as Rosemarie says, about how little people seem to know about these incredibly important topics.
You can see the video below. If you’d rather listen than watch, the audio is preserved as a weekl...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 10, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Abdul Ghafar Tags: THCB Gang End of Life Care Kim Bellard Matthew Holt rosemarie day Vince Kuraitis Source Type: blogs
What shared journeys to the afterlife teach about dying well and living better [PODCAST]
“The more I spoke with individuals who had experienced a shared crossing event, the more I also noticed repeating patterns. A woman in West Virginia and a woman in Australia with deeply similar experiences around the loss of a baby. A grown daughter in California and a grown daughter in Pennsylvania; a woman in AlabamaRead more …What shared journeys to the afterlife teach about dying well and living better [PODCAST] originally appeared inKevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 6, 2022 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 Source Type: blogs
You Aren't Alone If You Are Confused About Palliative Care Vs. Hospice Care
Confusion between the two foremost options for those with intractable pain as well as those approaching the end of their lives is rampant. While hospice tends to be better known it is broadly misunderstood. The second - palliative care - is something that many people have never heard of.
To learn more about these incredible options see Confused About Palliative Care Vs. Hospice Care? You Aren’t Alone on Eogsancares 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 Day...
Source: Minding Our Elders - February 5, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
