Can videos and communication training improve Advance Care Planning? We break down recent trials combining patient video aids with clinician training to drive goal-concordant care. #medsky   Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp412 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Snake Oil or Breakthrough? Longevity experts Dr. Mahtab Jafari & Dr. John Newman break down what actually works to extend healthspan & lifespan, from lifestyle habits to drugs in the pipeline. #medsky 👉 bit.ly/GeriPalEp411 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Can hepatologists deliver palliative care effectively? We dive into a new JAMA study showing both models significantly improve quality of life for end-stage liver disease patients. #medsky   👉 bit.ly/GeriPalEp410 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

NIH Shakeup! We dive into a proposed OMB rule change that could allow political appointees to overrule scientific peer review, ban critical health disparity research, and censor funded scientists. #medsky 👉 bit.ly/GeriPalEp409 😀 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Thank you @alexsmithmd.bsky.social and @ewidera.bsky.social for highlighting our research on @geripal.bsky.social

GeriPal Podcast@geripal.bsky.social · 2mo ago

When should doctors say "no" to treatments that won't help? We talk to Jason Batten, Liz Dzeng & Teva Brender about the real-world, unwritten "workarounds" clinicians use when standard ICU guidelines fail. #medsky   👉 bit.ly/GeriPalEp408 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

An ode to the corporatization of academic health care centers. #medsky www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Perversity in Medicine — When Vocation and Corporatization Clash | NEJM

Increasingly, in the age of corporate medicine, the fundamental values of U.S. health system leaders and clinicians are diverging, to the detriment of trust, communication, morale, and patient care.

nejm.org

What happens when healthcare experts become the patients? Today we dive into elder care transitions, structural flaws in assisted living, and the rising impact of private equity on vulnerable populations. #medsky   Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp406 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

What even is a #geriatrician? Today we bring together four geriatrics legends to wrestle with geriatric identity, what they'd change, and why the field must stop lamenting shortages to dream big. #medsky   Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp405 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

What is it like to prescribe Medical Aid in Dying? Drs. Carly Zapata & Dani Chammas open up about moral ambivalence, clinician grief, and the ethical "gray zones" of MAID. No easy answers — just honest ones. #medsky   Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp404 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Hospice fraud and abuse is a growing problem in all states (some more than others though). Today I was on NPRs 1A program to talk about this and how patients and families can choose a high quality hospice that focus on people rather than profits the1a.org/segments/hos...

Hospice fraud is becoming a political flashpoint. Why?

These criminals start shell companies, sign up unsuspecting seniors, and then bill for nonexistent services.

the1a.org

Today we break down the Organ Donation Conversation — what clinicians often get wrong, why it's governed by gift law (not healthcare law), and why donor families often say "donation saved us." #medsky #OrganDonor   Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp403 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

1- A tale of a "me too" drug ... FDA approved benzgalantamine for Alzheimer's disease in 2024 on an alternate pathway for modified drugs. Benzgalantamine is a modified version of galantamine that bypasses metabolism in the gut and so might be better tolerated. ebm.bmj.com/content/earl...

Basal Cell is the No. 1 cancer in the US. But for Older Adults, watchful waiting may be the right call. We dive into Geriatric Dermatology (GeriDerm) + itching, moisturizers, and more. #medsky   👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp402 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Congratulations to @alexsmithmd.bsky.social, on being named Co–Editor-in-Chief of @agsjournal.bsky.social! A well-deserved recognition and an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of geriatrics research and care. www.americangeriatrics.org/media-center...

AGS Announces New Editors-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

New York (April 24, 2026)—Today, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) announced that Debra Saliba, MD, MPH, AGSF and Alex Smith, MD, MS, MPH will succeed Joseph G. Ouslander, MD, AGSF as…

americangeriatrics.org

GeriPal celebrates 400 episodes! Hosts @ewidera.bsky.social & @alexsmithmd.bsky.social do a Hot Ones–style AMA 🌶️: AI in medicine, changing clinical practice, joy in geriatrics, Advance Care Planning, and what they'd do differently after 10 years, + more. #medsky   👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp400

PREPARE makes it easier for clinicians to support patients in advance care planning. Easy-to-use tools help patients, caregivers, and clinicians plan for future medical decision-making. Check out this press release: www.ucsf.edu/news/2026/04...

How to Improve Advanced Care Planning for Patients and Caregivers

In recognition of “National Healthcare Decisions Day,” the “PREPARE for Your Care” program at UC San Francisco is making it easier for clinicians to remind their patients of the importance of planning...

ucsf.edu

Advancing a #Palliative Approach in Dementia Care in Asia: De-Implementation of Tube Feeding as Litmus Test. #geriatrics https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.70383

We discuss guest Athanase Benetos's study that found no difference in mortality between deprescribing antihypertensives and usual care in frail nursing home residents. We also interview Mike Steinman. #medsky 👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp396 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Is Alzheimer's a clinical symptom or just a biomarker? We’re diving into the "A-words"— #amyloid, antibodies, and #Alzheimers — with three top experts - Halima Amjad, Barak Gaster, & Heather Whitson. #medsky 👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp395 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

We dive deep into Leadership, Quality, & the Future of Hospice & Palliative Care with TCNtalks' Chris Comeaux & Cordt Kassner. - leadership challenges, mission vs money, fraud, research funding + more! #medsky 👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp394 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

How Pharma exploites a regulatory loophole allowing approval of high-priced, minimally modified drugs based on limited data. This example is on an Alzheimer’s drug called Zunveyl which is basically galantamine without safety data in the population that it’s indicated in. ebm.bmj.com/content/earl...

FDA approval of benzgalantamine exposes flaws in the 505(b)(2) pathway for innovations on existing drugs

When the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved benzgalantamine (Zunveyl) in July 2024 for Alzheimer’s disease, it was hailed by its manufacturer as a ‘major breakthrough’.1 In reality, benzga...

ebm.bmj.com

Should hospitals allow Unilateral DNR orders? We dive into this and the silent practice of assent DNRs, ethics, the legal "wild west" of state statutes, and bias in end-of-life care. #medsky   👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp392 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Join us at the GeriPal Pub Crawl The GeriPal pub crawl in San Diego during the Annual Assembly of #hospice and #palliativecare. We start at 8pm on Thursday night, March 5th. Details are on the link below: geripal.org/geripal-pubc...

GeriPal Pubcrawl is Back in San Diego for the 2026 AAHPM-HPNA Annual Assembly

We haven’t lost that loving feeling. The GeriPal pub-crawl is back, and this time we are bringing it to San Diego during the AAHPM-HPNA Annual Assembly. The Pub Crawl starts at 8 pm on Thursday, March...

geripal.org

Shoutout to @lsgeriatricem.bsky.social and @lizgoldbergmd.bsky.social for their fantastic @geripal.bsky.social podcast episode! www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1no... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... @saemonline.bsky.social #emergencymedicine #saem #agem #geriatricmedicine #emergencydepartment

We discuss how Embedding Care (PTs, pharmacists, & social services) directly in the ED can reduce repeat fall-related visits by 66% and connect vulnerable seniors with life-saving community resources. #medsky 👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp391 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

@ewidera.bsky.social, MD just published in JAMA Internal Medicine: "Importance of Function for Alzheimer Diagnosis and Management—More Than Memory". #geriatrics #HPM #palliativemedicine #ucsf Read more here: tiny.ucsf.edu/B6anHu

I wish I could write as well as @jbriscoe.bsky.social. His take on AI and medicine was priceless. Just to quote from it: "Are we prepared for this? I think we're prepared for it in the same way a turkey is prepared for Thanksgiving..." familymeetingnotes.substack.com/p/notes-in-t...

Notes in the Margin - 9 February 2026

Notes from a Family Meeting is a newsletter where I hope to join the curious conversations that hang about the intersections of health and the human condition.

familymeetingnotes.substack.com

“…the growing enthusiasm for biomarkers risks obscuring a fundamental truth: biomarkers only reflect disease pathology. They cannot assess cognition or illuminate the functional changes that transform memory concerns into meaningful impairment.” #alz jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Importance of Function for Alzheimer Diagnosis and Management

This Viewpoint offers a reminder, amid new laboratory testing for Alzheimer disease, of the primary care practitioner’s important role in functional assessment of activities of daily living.

jamanetwork.com

Great discussion with Dr. Bob Wachter about his new book on AI and Healthcare, "A Giant Leap." We discuss using AI for diagnosis, job loss concerns, risks of direct-to-patient chatbots, ethics + more! #medsky 👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp390 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Surprise: Routine perioperative #PalliativeCare may NOT improve outcomes for curative-intent cancer surgery. Lead authors of the SCOPE & PERIOP-PC trials join us to discuss these null results. #medsky 👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp389 😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social