Rao Doctor

APRIL 3, 2025

In my previous article I covered the types of illness and the causes. In case you have missed it, click below to read- FEVER FAQ- Part 1 Fever Diagnosis: How is your health assessed? When assessing a fever, we doctors employ a systematic approach to ensure accurate diagnosis and effective management.

Diagnosis 130

Diagnosis Management Illness Diagnose 130

GeriPal

JUNE 27, 2024

I have so many questions, and I promise we’re going to get to the management of anxiety and serious illness. Summary Transcript Summary “Anxiety is a lot like a toddler. It never stops talking, tells you you’re wrong about everything, and wakes you up at 3 a.m.” I’m not sure who wrote this quote, but it feels right to me.

Illness 129

Illness IT Diagnosis Patient-Centered 129

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. Adapting Palliative Care Skills to Provide Substance Use Disorder Treatment to Patients With Serious Illness . Katie, before we jump into the topic of buprenorphine in serious illness, what’s the song request?

Illness 102

Illness Patient-Centered IT Patients 102

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Eric 00:27 So we’re going to be talking about making the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in a primary care setting, not specialty care, but maybe we could talk a little bit about that. How much should it change how we think about making a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in primary care? Great to be back. I loved it.

Primary Care 95

Primary Care Diagnosis Screening IT 95

GeriPal

JANUARY 18, 2024

Eric: And Alex, we’re going to be talking about substance use disorder and serious illness and aging, with three amazing experts. Summary Transcript Summary The CDC’s Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain excludes those undergoing cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care. This is Eric Widera.

Illness 136

Illness Patient-Centered Screening Clinic 136

Plum Health

OCTOBER 11, 2024

Have you ever found yourself in need of medical attention but overwhelmed by the myriad of clinics and healthcare options out there? Navigating the healthcare system can be daunting, especially when you're unwell or caring for someone who is. These services go beyond treating illnesses; they aim to keep you healthy in the first place.

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Clinic Primary Care Doctor Primary Care Chronic Condition 52

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

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? Dani, welcome back. Dani 01:17 Always a pleasure. Dani 01:30 The Pal.

Illness 101

Illness Mental Health IT Patient-Centered 101

GeriPal

AUGUST 29, 2024

Summary Transcript CME Summary Serious illness communication is hard. Any one of our podcasts with Bob Arnold, including this one on the language of serious illness or this one on books, to become a better mentor. That’s a hard enough task, given that most of us have never had any communication skills training. Gordon 02:02 I do.

IT 132

IT Illness Families Family 132

GeriPal

JULY 21, 2022

Love to talk about also in the serious illness population. Because I don’t think we think about that so much in palliative care, but we do in geriatrics. But I believe before we start, somebody has a song request for Alex. Is it you, Emmy? Emmy: It is. Eric: What’s the song? Alex: Pink Cadillac by Bruce Springsteen?

Families 102

Families Family IT Diagnosis 102

GeriPal

JANUARY 30, 2025

Summary Transcript CME Summary It is a battle royale on this weeks GeriPal podcast. In one corner, weighing in at decades of experience, well known for heavy hits of bedside assessments, strong patient-family relationships, and a knockout punch of interdisciplinary collaboration, we have in-person palliative care consults. But watch out!

Telehealth 105

Telehealth Patient-Centered IT Patients 105

GeriPal

JUNE 9, 2022

By diagnosis? We can’t possibly meet the needs of all people with newly diagnosed serious illness. She’s also a member of the PAIR Center, which stands for Palliative Advanced Illness Research Center. Should eligibility and access be determined by clinician referral? By prognosis? Can nudges help? Working on a mystery.

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Consulting Patient-Centered Diagnosis Referral 99

GeriPal

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Alex 00:30 And we are also delighted to welcome Eloise Theisen, who’s a palliative care nurse practitioner at Stanford and CEO and co- c ounder of Radical Health Clinician Network, which helps patients use cannabis to treat chronic and age related illness. Summary Transcript CME Summary Cannabis is complicated. Alex 02:23 Terrific.

Medical 98

Medical IT Patient-Centered Healthcare 98

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

As she said, when you think about the hardest patients you’ve cared for, in nearly all cases there was some aspect of psychological illness involved. Today we talk with two psychologists who are deeply invested in addressing psychological aspects of care for people living with serious illness. That rings true to me. Eric: Oh, wow.

Mental Health 122

Mental Health Patient-Centered Illness Screening 122

GeriPal

MAY 22, 2025

Jenny Chen is a palliative care fellow at Yale who regularly sings for her seriously ill patients. Well, todays guests love music at least as much if not more than me, and they each make a strong case for music as medicine. Look for Jenny to potentially appear on the show Americas Got Talent (no lie). Tyler 01:12 AHPM. We were in Denver.

IT 96

IT Patient-Centered Patients Board-Certified 96

GeriPal

JUNE 15, 2023

Hallucinations, or when the AI lies or b *s, then denies it When the AI approaches sentience, is it ethical to unplug it? I’m sure this is a subject we will return to, given the rapid progress on AI. But then it asked me, “Oh, that sounds really interesting. Who are you going to be talking to?” ” And I said, “Sure.”

IT 99

IT Patient-Centered Patients Healthcare 99

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

The hot sauces progressed from mild to extreme (and I mean extreme) heat. Can I just say…it works? Being asked a question with your mouth on fire, sweat streaming down your face, feeling the most awake and terrified you have ever been in your life, forces you to give an unadorned answer, straight from the heart. Lynn: Okay. Anne: GeriPal edition.

IT 126

IT Patient-Centered Illness Education 126

GeriPal

JUNE 19, 2025

Eric 01:04 So we’re going to be talking about transgender health in older adults and those with serious illness. Eric and I remember him from that time and he’s now at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he is associate professor in the department of social and behavioral health. Jace, welcome to the GeriPal Podcast.

Individual 85

Individual Community IT Chronic Condition 85

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.” We owe it to the patient to explore the reasons behind the “no,” commonly not wanting to be a burden to their family. And I’m worried that there may come a time when you have trouble making decisions for yourself.

Families 97

Families Family Patient-Centered IT 97

GeriPal

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

A “Three-Stage Protocol” for Serious Illness Conversations: Reframing Communication in Real Time Transcript Eric: Welcome to the GeriPal podcast. Summary Transcript Summary Medical communication is tough, although fundamentally at its most basic unit of delivery, it includes really only three steps. Simple, right? What else?

Families 144

Families Family Patient-Centered IT 144

GeriPal

JULY 28, 2022

GeriPal post on “fast food” style palliative care in chronic critical illness. Jennifer’s study is most widely known for the “kicker” – not only did it improve quality of life, palliative care was associated with a couple months longer survival. . Additional links: Editorial on Areej’s study. Palliative care in lung and GI cancers.

Illness 110

Illness Hospital Patient-Centered Patients 110

GeriPal

JANUARY 11, 2024

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. A planned expansion of MAID to include people with mental illness was placed on hold until March 2024. Four percent. It was amazing.

Illness 144

Illness IT Medical Provider 144

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. But are we really taking full advantage of ALL social workers have to offer our field? by: Anne Kelly, LCSW, APHSW-C.

IT 102

IT Families Family Clinic 102

GeriPal

MAY 9, 2024

all of whom focus their efforts on educating the general public about living and dying with a serious illness. Summary Transcript Summary On today’s podcast, we’ve invited four hospice and palliative care social media influencers (yes, that’s a thing!), He was also the one who we have to thank for suggesting this podcast! Great title.

Education 127

Education IT Illness Healthcare 127

GeriPal

MAY 4, 2023

Eric: So we’re going to be talking about palliative care for adolescents, and young adults. Why does it feel different? Does it feel different? How should we think about the care? But before we do, Abby, I think you have a song request for Alex. Abby: I do. So I requested that Alex play for us, Let It Grow, which is from The Lorax soundtrack.

IT 83

IT Families Family Illness 83

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

Today we talk with experts Janet Ho, Sach Kale, and Julie Childers about opioid use disorder and serious illness. Eric 00:51 So we’re gonna be talking about caring for people with serious illness and substance abuse. Who has a song request for Alex before we talk about substance use disorder and serious illness?

Patients 72

Patients Clinic Patient-Centered Illness 72

GeriPal

OCTOBER 19, 2023

And we have Scott Halpern, who is Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy and Director of the Palliative and Advanced Illness Research Center or Payer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The answers to these questions will vary. Reasonable people will disagree. And today, on our podcast, our guests disagree. Welcome, Karl.

Patient-Centered 126

Patient-Centered IT Patients Illness 126

GeriPal

JULY 11, 2024

Summary Transcript Summary In May we did a podcast on KidneyPal (the integration of palliative care in renal disease) , which made us think, hmmm… one organ right next door is the liver. Maybe we should do a podcast on LiverPal? (or or should we call it HepatoPal?) ABIM MOC credit will be offered to subscribers in November, 2024. Excited to be here.

Patient-Centered 109

Patient-Centered IT Patients Clinic 109

GeriPal

JUNE 30, 2022

Eric: So we’re going to be talking about dementia and considerations around surgery for individuals with dementia. Before we go into this topic, who has a song request for Alex? It was Remember Me. Was that the title? Alex: I think it’s I Will Remember You. Joel: Yeah, right, I Will Remember You, right. Alex: … Sarah McLachlan.

Patient-Centered 101

Patient-Centered Complication Patients IT 101

GeriPal

OCTOBER 12, 2023

Instead, what if your surgeon told you that the operation she was discussing could help with only 4 things: live longer, feel better, prevent disability, or obtain a diagnosis? And, what if your surgeon openly discussed the expected ‘bad stuff’ of post-operative recovery, instead of rotely reciting a list of possible complications?

IT 128

IT Families Family Patient-Centered 128

GeriPal

MARCH 7, 2024

He looked very ill. We are doulas for those with serious illness and those at end-of-life, just a longitudinal relationship, nonmedical support to provide presence. But before we jump into that topic, John, do you have the song request for Alex? John: I do. It’s Jimmy Buffett’s song, Bubbles Up. It was on his last album.

Provider 117

Provider Illness IT Healthcare 117

GeriPal

OCTOBER 20, 2022

It’s Lona Mody who is a translational infectious disease researcher at the University of Michigan and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. The recent focus on nursing facilities and long term supportive services during the pandemic, along with key gaps. How to make your voice heard and get involved. Eric: Welcome to the GeriPal podcast.

Complication 52

Complication Patient-Centered IT Patients 52

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

And so many older adults with diagnosis of osteoporosis have never received any therapy for it. 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. See screenshot below. James: I do.

Clinic 67

Clinic IT Patients Medical 67

GeriPal

MAY 12, 2022

Raj faced in pain management: access to opioids, corruption, a system that doesn’t see addressing suffering as a priority. Prognosis communication and the subtle ways we may communicate it without intention. Social pain and loneliness. Community-based palliative care networks . Raj’s reflections on the state of palliative care in the US. Transcript.

Community 115

Community IT Relationship Healthcare 115

GeriPal

AUGUST 25, 2022

Second, Hospice was originally designed for patients with advanced cancer, but the fastest growing admitting diagnosis is dementia. And yet, disenrollment from hospice, either due to patient/family revoking the benefit or stabilization of illness (extended prognosis) is remarkably high for people with dementia among some hospices.

Families 106

Families Family IT Patients 106

GeriPal

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

The last time this happened to me I immediately went on the defensive despite years of training in serious illness communication skills. Summary Transcript Summary Think about the last time a patient yelled at you in anger. How did you react? Afterwards, I thought there must be a better way. Transcript Eric: Welcome to the GeriPal podcast.

Patients 109

Patients IT Families Family 109

GeriPal

JUNE 22, 2023

We start off part one by interviewing Michele DiTomas, who has been the longstanding Medical Director of the Hospice unit and currently is also the Chief Medical Executive for the Palliative care Initiative with the California Correctional Healthcare Services. Afterwards, we chat with the prison’s chaplain, Keith Knauf. Eric: Yeah.

Families 132

Families Family IT Community 132