Hospice & Palliative Medicine
Latest News
Advance care planning benefit presents challenges
Some are having success using new Medicare billing codes, while other doctors say barriers are preventing usage.
Feature
End-of-life advice: More than 500,000 chat on Medicare’s dime
The 90-year-old woman in the San Diego–area nursing home was quite clear, said Karl Steinberg, MD. She didn’t want aggressive measures to prolong...
Feature
Cancer the most common diagnosis in palliative care patients
Survey shows that hospitalists are the main source of referrals to palliative care programs.
From the Journals
Research gaps identified for palliative surgical care
Palliative care in surgery remains understudied, according to a work group convened by the National Institutes of Health and the National...
From the Journals
Vascular surgeons underutilize palliative care planning
Almost three-quarters of patients were transitioned to palliative care; of those, 14% presented with an advanced directive and 28% received a...
Commentary
Palliative care ‘in my hands’
The disconnect between palliative care and critical care services has been previously perceived as an education and access issue, not an outcome...
Palliative Care
Transplantation palliative care: The time is ripe
Integration of palliative care into the field of transplantation has long been needed to effectively care for transplant patients and their...
Conference Coverage
Sarcopenia an effective measure of frailty in elderly patients
Sarcopenia is an independent predictor of 1-year mortality in elderly patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery, results from a single-...
News
FRAIL scale found to predict 1-year functional status of geriatric trauma patients
WAIKOLOA, HAWAII – The FRAIL scale questionnaire predicts functional status and mortality at 1 year among geriatric trauma patients and is a...
News
FDA: New labeling warns against combining opioids, benzodiazepines
Prescription opioid pain or cough medicines and benzodiazepines will now carry the strongest available warning regarding serious side effects and...
Commentary
Advance care planning discussions: Talk is no longer cheap
What many surgeons may not fully appreciate is how routine communication events can fall under the general category of advance care planning.