GeriPal

MARCH 14, 2024

We also talk about the importance of a proactive approach to involving speech-language pathologists in the care of individuals early on with neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and ALS. So as you mentioned, dementia, there’s some research that show about 86% or 93% of those individuals will get that. This is Eric Widera.

IT 124

IT Hospital Patient-Centered Individual 124

GeriPal

DECEMBER 2, 2022

So on today’s podcast we invite four brilliant individuals to talk about their perspective on how to change how we as a society and health care system partner with individuals with dementia. We’re going to be talking about things like creative engagement in individuals with dementia. Susan: Yeah, that was me.

Community 101

Community IT Individual Patient-Centered 101

GeriPal

MAY 5, 2022

We talk with Nick and Meg about: Why hearing loss is important not just in geriatrics but also for those caring for seriously ill individuals. Communication techniques we can use when talking to individuals with hearing loss. But individuals who have hearing loss, there’s several problems. Transcript.

IT 102

IT Screening Hospital Clinic 102

Pamela Wible MD

JUNE 20, 2025

(Published 3/18/19, updated 6/20/25) What Is Physician “Burnout”—and Why It Matters Physician “burnout” is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress in the medical workplace. and it has been linked to rising rates of physician depression , doctor suicide , and medical errors.

Medical Student 246

Medical Student Diagnosis Physicals Medical 246

GeriPal

JUNE 8, 2023

When I’m on palliative care consults and attending in our hospice unit we have to counsel patients about deprescribing and de-intensifying diabetes medications. What are the risks and rewards of new classes of medications? When I’m on nursing home call, the most common page I receive is for a blood sugar value. How high is too high?

Diabetes 73

Diabetes Management Patient-Centered Families 73

Rao Doctor

APRIL 3, 2025

In my previous article I covered the types of illness and the causes. Assessing Accompanying Symptoms in fever In addition to temperature measurement, we doctors evaluate accompanying symptoms to determine the potential causes of illness. Understanding the patient’s medical history is crucial for an accurate diagnosis.

Diagnosis 130

Diagnosis Management Illness Diagnose 130

GeriPal

MAY 8, 2025

We’ll discuss three recent clinical trials involving patients with serious illness, joined by our guests James Downar , Ali John Zarrabi , and Margaret Ross. We’re going to be talking about new research in psilocybin in serious illness. And when that article went to print, it just went ballistic. This is Eric Widera.

Illness 107

Illness IT Patient-Centered Patients 107

GeriPal

APRIL 14, 2022

On today’s podcast we talk with three experts on buprenorphine on why, when, and how to use it in serious illness. And if you want to learn more about buprenorphine from these amazing palliative care clinicians and others, check out of some of these articles: Learn more about caring for those with substance use disorder: . Transcript.

Illness 102

Illness Patient-Centered IT Patients 102

GeriPal

JANUARY 18, 2024

We start off the conversation by talking about whether patients with cancer and cancer pain are really that different, and their paper that was just published on January 11 th in JAMA Oncology showing that substance use disorder is not uncommon in individuals with cancer. Transcript Eric: Welcome to the GeriPal podcast. This is Eric Widera.

Illness 136

Illness Patient-Centered Screening Clinic 136

GeriPal

AUGUST 31, 2023

Summary Transcript Summary How do people react when they hear they have a serious illness? And some people, in addition or instead, engage in deep introspection on how to make meaning or live with or understand this experience of serious illness. Shock, “like a car is rushing straight at me” (says Bill Gardner on our podcast).

Illness 128

Illness IT Diagnose Medical 128

GeriPal

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Summary Transcript Summary Communicating about a serious illness is hard. Last week’s podcast we talked about the challenge around miscommunication in serious illness. You recently published an article in the New Yorker titled, I can’t even read my own, what was the title again? Of course not. This is Eric Widera.

Illness 136

Illness IT Patient-Centered Families 136

GeriPal

DECEMBER 19, 2024

Still, we havent talked about integrating palliative care into psychiatry or in the care of those with severe mental illness. What does it look like to take a palliative approach to severe mental illness? Is “terminal” mental illness a thing?

Illness 101

Illness Mental Health IT Patient-Centered 101

GeriPal

JANUARY 25, 2024

Summary Transcript Summary In a JAMA 2020 systematic review of palliative care for non-cancer serious illness, Kieran Quinn found many positives, as we discussed on our podcast and in our editorial. The article we discuss today, also published in JAMA , addresses these two gaps. Eric: And Alex, who do we have with us today?

Patient-Centered 122

Patient-Centered IT Illness Patients 122

GeriPal

MARCH 9, 2023

Two of our guests today, Stacy Fischer and Brian Anderson, are involved in large multicenter trials of psychedelics for patients with advanced cancer (Fischer) or life-limiting illness (Anderson). And some people in studies and just in clinical use have found that to be helpful, including for patients with serious illness.

Patient-Centered 91

Patient-Centered Community IT Medical 91

GeriPal

JULY 28, 2022

GeriPal post on “fast food” style palliative care in chronic critical illness. And I just want to highlight, Jennifer has a great JPSM article that just came out. Would you also just mind mentioning kind of the JPSM article too? What drove you to write that article on this important trip to Seattle? Transcript.

Illness 110

Illness Hospital Patient-Centered Patients 110

GeriPal

OCTOBER 20, 2022

Alex: And we are also delighted to welcome Devika Nair, who is a nephrologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee Valley VA Healthcare System. That includes many medical specialists, surgical specialists, many specialists and many other disciplines who are on our older adults team. Rasheeda, welcome to GeriPal.

Complication 52

Complication Patient-Centered IT Patients 52

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

Accreditation In support of improving patient care, UCSF Office of CME is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

IT 126

IT Patient-Centered Illness Education 126

GeriPal

JANUARY 11, 2024

Summary Transcript Summary Four percent of deaths in Canada are due to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). To be eligible in Canada patients must have a “ grievous and irremediable ” condition, including disability ; they do not have to have a terminal illness with a prognosis of less than 6 months. Four percent. This is Eric Widera.

Illness 144

Illness IT Medical Provider 144

GeriPal

OCTOBER 26, 2023

Within hours of recording this podcast, I joined a family meeting of an older patient who had multiple medical problems including cancer, and a slow but inexorable decline in function, weight, and cognition. And so I knew that I wanted to do something related to palliative care because I work with people with advanced and serious illness.

Patient-Centered 132

Patient-Centered Hospital Patients IT 132

GeriPal

JANUARY 16, 2025

Summary Transcript CME Summary Many older adults lose decision-making capacity during serious illnesses, and a significant percentage lack family or friends to assist with decisions. How should we care for unrepresented individuals in inpatient and outpatient settings? Why not use the older term unbefriended? Yael 02:12 Thank you.

Patient-Centered 109

Patient-Centered IT Patients Healthcare 109

GeriPal

MAY 25, 2023

Van Scoy who is a pulmonary critical care advance care planning researcher at Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania. I’m not sure if you read that article and whether or not it’s changed your mind or whether or not you want to do any more research in advance care planning. Welcome to the GeriPal podcast.

Community 95

Community IT Patient-Centered Primary Care 95

GeriPal

MARCH 24, 2022

Start by reading this article by Sean Morrison, Diane Meier, and Bob Arnold in JAMA , and this response from Rebecca Sudore, Susan Hickman, and Anne Walling. Assigning a surrogate decision maker is important for everyone, including those who don’t have serious illness. Where does POLST fit in with this debate? This is Eric Widera.

Illness 72

Illness IT Healthcare Patient-Centered 72

GeriPal

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Unpacking characteristics of spirituality through the lens of persons of colour living with serious illness: The need for nurse-based education to increase understanding of the spiritual dimension in healthcare. What Mattered Then, Now, and Always: Illness Narratives From Persons of Color. Tell me about your illness.

Patient-Centered 115

Patient-Centered Illness Healthcare IT 115

GeriPal

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

We also briefly mention Susan Wong’s terrific studies that found a disconnect between older adults with renal failure’s expressed values, focused on comfort, and their advance care planning and end-of-life care received, which focused on life extension; and another study that found quality of life was sustained until late in the illness course.

Management 116

Management Patient-Centered Patients IT 116

GeriPal

MARCH 7, 2024

Check out the Pub Crawl GeriPal post for more info, and follow #HPMParty on Twitter to keep us as we crawl! ** In the last several years, I’ve seen more and more articles about end-of-life doulas ( like this NY Times article from 2021 ). He looked very ill. My wife is also a physician and she said he’s dying.

Provider 117

Provider Illness IT Healthcare 117

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Today we talk with Anne Rohlfing, Lynn Flint, and Anne Kelly, authors of a JGIM article on the reasons we shouldn’t stop at “no.” Emily is a bioethicist in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Should you stop at “no?” AlexSmithMD Transcript Eric: Welcome to the GeriPal podcast.

Families 97

Families Family Patient-Centered IT 97

GeriPal

APRIL 4, 2024

Accreditation In support of improving patient care, UCSF Office of CME is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Families 112

Families Family Patient-Centered IT 112

GeriPal

JANUARY 30, 2025

Find out on this weeks podcast where we invite Joseph Greer, Simone Rinaldi, and Vicki Jackson to talk about their recent JAMA article on Telehealth vs In-Person Early Palliative Care for Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer – A Multisite Randomized Clinical Trial. Alex, who is gonna be answering that question? Vicki 02:10 Thank you.

Telehealth 105

Telehealth Patient-Centered IT Patients 105

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

The illness narratives suffering, healing, and the human condition. Alex: I wonder when we talk about it, because we’ll have links to both Eric Cassell’s argument, and we mentioned another article from Tate. Hospital Chaplains, Spirituality, and Pain Management: A Qualitative Study. Pain Manag Nurs. doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2023.11.004.

IT 137

IT Families Family Physicals 137

GeriPal

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Additional links mentioned in the podcast: Recent JGIM article on POLST in California nursing homes, hospitalization, and nursing home care Karl’s GeriPal post on appropriate use of POLST Enjoy! So now it’s just POLST, the word POLST, Portable Medical Orders. Respectful disagreement is in short supply these days. Good to know.

Patient-Centered 126

Patient-Centered IT Patients Illness 126

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

Today we talk with experts Janet Ho, Sach Kale, and Julie Childers about opioid use disorder and serious illness. Alex 00:27 And we’re delighted to welcome S a ch Kale, who is a palliative care doc at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. But my medical training kicked in. Janet 00:26 Thank you so much.

Patients 72

Patients Clinic Patient-Centered Illness 72

GeriPal

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

Social workers augment a team’s ability to provide whole-person care, often aiding to identify and meaningfully address the wide variety of challenges and unmet needs faced by individuals and families facing serious illness. So in preparation for this, I read a couple articles about social work leadership in palliative care.

IT 102

IT Families Family Clinic 102

GeriPal

DECEMBER 15, 2022

In an article in the NEJM (a published article this time, wonder of wonders!) So during the dissertation, that was a method for my PhD research and that’s related to… I was learning about African American elders experiences of psych-social-spiritual healing and serious illness. Tell me about your illness.

IT 105

IT Patient-Centered Healthcare Illness 105

GeriPal

MARCH 24, 2023

For a deeper diver into these issues, check out some of the following links: Ira’s Stat new article “Hospice care needs saving” GeriPal’s episode on the growing role of private equity in hospice care Acquisitions of Hospice Agencies by Private Equity Firms and Publicly Traded Corporations. Welcome back to GeriPal, Lauren. Eric: Great.

IT 113

IT Provider Patients Families 113

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

When we have a medication with up front harms and downstream benefits, it’s critical that we consider the time to benefit, or how long it will take an individual to benefit from a test or treatment. For individuals with a life expectancy less than the time to benefit, the up front harms outweigh the downstream benefits. .

Clinic 67

Clinic IT Patients Medical 67

GeriPal

AUGUST 24, 2023

Summary Transcript Summary I hear the word dignity used a lot in the medical setting, but I’m never sure what people mean when they use it. Medical Assistance in Dying and Palliative Care: Shared Trajectories Transcript Eric: Welcome to the GeriPal Podcast. Scientific American Letter to the Editor: Response to Downar et al.

Patient-Centered 98

Patient-Centered Patients IT Illness 98

GeriPal

APRIL 24, 2025

We discuss an article they wrote about PULET for the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, including: What makes a PULET a PULET? If its potentially unsafe, but has robust evidence, well thats most of the treatments we offer seriously ill patients! Key ingredients are both potentially unsafe and low evidence.

Patient-Centered 77

Patient-Centered IT Patients Illness 77