Author's posts
Advance directives amidst COVID: a critical look
Are advance directives any better than they were four years ago when COVID was surging? Are patients still comfortable with being placed on ventilators? Do physicians better understand how to treat COVID as a serious illness? Physicians provide emerge…
April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day: Plan for your end-of-life care now
When COVID killed thousands of seniors three years ago, few of them showed up in emergency rooms with advance directives. Even fewer thought about the end of life or how to die. Sadly, many lives were discarded in makeshift morgues/cooling trucks behin…
The heartbreaking story of Jimmy Carter: a call for Medicare reform in end-of-life care
The purpose of the serious illness conversation is to offer patients a clear choice between treating and not treating an incurable disease like liver cancer. The goal is to give the person permission to alleviate pain and suffering. The individual migh…
Tom Brady’s legacy and the importance of personal integrity in end-of-life choices
With no true endgame or advance directive, Tom Brady’s legacy as an NFL superstar and family man remains nebulous. Is his recent retirement from football officially the end? Will he entertain offers to stay alive and play one more year? With bein…
Tom Brady’s legacy and the importance of personal integrity in end-of-life choices
With no true endgame or advance directive, Tom Brady’s legacy as an NFL superstar and family man remains nebulous. Is his recent retirement from football officially the end? Will he entertain offers to stay alive and play one more year? With bein…
Learn to earn end-of-life respect
Pele, the famous Brazilian soccer star, reportedly stopped medical treatment for colon cancer. Media outlets stated he was receiving various iterations of comfort, hospice, and palliative care which were perceived as criminal and disrespectful. His dau…
Can Medicare advance directives be simple?
Consider Medicare enrollment with the end in mind. In case of emergency, do seniors prefer medical care or holistic care? Might they designate a medical power of attorney or a merciful power of attorney? Do they oblige CPR or sign a DNR order? The JAMA…
Giving medical advice with moral values is deeply personal and takes courage
Imagine delivering testimony to practicing emergency medicine for 30 years on the TEDx stage and my “Real Serious Illness Conversations with Parents” being condemned with this NOTE FROM TED: Please do not look to this talk as a substitute f…
