So thankful for the unsung heroes who keep our hospitals afloat during #COVID19 . And @iamnursejin who helped me write this piece! @umichmedicine @ACPinternists @AmerMedicalAssn freep.com/story/opinion/cont…

Fascinating quantification of how much time Medicare populations spend in contact with the healthcare system and where. Most tests did not occur on same day as doc visit. Not captured: how much time for each contact spent arranging appt, transport, waiting acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/…

• United Health will PROFIT about $22.3 billion this year. • 50% of hospitals will lose money this year. • 47% of US healthcare workers plan to leave within the next 3 years. That is the current state of US healthcare, and it should terrify everyone.

PSA from your local geriatrician: older adults with dementia are affected by the time change too!! #geriatrics #melatonin #delirium

#familycaregivers are an under-recognized,and under- appreciated vital component to the health of many older adults. thank a caregiver for their hard work when you see them. And don’t forget to involve them in making medical plans for your patient’s care!! #geriatrics

Happy Halloween!! #MedEd

"Getting patients care they need at home is complex. Most people dont plan ahead. They think about home care in a crisis. MDs sometimes suggest it but few of us have been trained on the topic and we lack the bandwidth to walk patients through the maze" jamanetwork.com/journals/jam…

Responsibility with no authority is the most demeaning thing…and it’s the story of healthcare. Clinicians have responsibility to answer their patients’ questions…but no authority to book patients for more than 10-minute visit lengths. That’s the time squeeze set by admin/corporations running the clinic… Patients have responsibility for their health…but no authority over the resources they need to better it — specialist visit? Need a referral. Medication? Need prior auth. Surgery? Out of network… Clinicians have responsibility for patient satisfaction, but no authority to fix staffing shortages, long wait times, dirty bathrooms…again, third parties hold the power (and the budget) to fix those issues… Healthcare works together as a team, but we’ve unfortunately allowed our authority to be stolen by third parties: insurance, corporations, private equity, etc…the misbalance between power and responsibility is where we are all left disenfranchised. No wonder burnout is so prevalent, for clinicians and patients both.

This is why the comprehensive geriatric assessment is so crucial!!! Use this info with your health systems to support #geriatrics!!! #BGS23

Does avoiding general anesthesia reduce delirium after surgery for persons with cognitive impairment? That’s the question we ask in new work from @PCORI REGAIN trial, out today in @alzdemjournals @alzassociation Read more here 👇

The Silver Club memory programs have greatly benefited my older patients with #ADRD. Please consider joining the event and/ or bidding on silent auction items (just not the golf ones, my husband’s birthday is coming up 🙄)! #geriatrics @AmerGeriatrics

An important fact to consider as we treat older adults for urinary incontinence!! Miralax/high fiber diet>>>>>>>oxybutynin!! #geriatrics #polypharmacy #beerscriteria @AmerGeriatrics

endless #AGS23 pearls: what about lecanemab for dementia?? ➡️findings support LESS DECLINE in cog only! (NOT same as improvement, which would be 🔑 to discuss w/patients & care partners!) ➡️clinical benefit unclear ➡️risk of harms may be greater than benefit #geriatrics

“When a baby cries, you don’t medicate and restrain them, you figure out the root cause.” An excellent reminder of how we need to change our approach to helping older adults with agitation from @LSinvani. And ideas for what to do instead! #AGS2023 #AGS23

Excellent call to action by @NimitAgarwalMD for all #geriatricians to continue to define our #valueproposition! #ags23

“Nationally, only 12% of nursing home staff have completed the full #COVID19 vaccine series.” Such a sobering statistic from Dr. Stefan Gravenstein. Designating frontline champions, setting goals, and T-shirt 🤪incentives can make a huge difference though!#AGS23