Alex Smith, MD

Strengths and Opportunities: Clinicians' Perspectives on Palliative Care for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in the United States Introduction/Aims Little is known about the state of palliative care (PC) for people with ALS (pALS) in the U.S. We aimed to examine current practice regarding PC for pALS and how it can be improved...

Palliative care clinicians and #ALS specialists have slightly different views of the unmet palliative needs of patients living with #ALS, great paper by Kara Bischoff onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Death Anxiety: Dani Chammas & Keri Brenner Podcast Episode · GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Podcast · 17/07/2025 · 1h

podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/g...

Keri Brenner: “it’s not about perfection, it’s about connection”

Superb episode

@ewidera.bsky.social @alexsmithmd.bsky.social

Guest Victor Montori's book, "Why We Revolt," decries the Industrialization of #healthcare. Clinicians become busier & patients are tasked with more work to self manage. #medsky

👉 Full episode at bit.ly/GeriPalEp367
😀 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
😀 Guest: Victor Montori

Art in Medical Education: How art museums can enhance empathy & awareness, and create deeper team bonds for health care professionals. #medsky
 
👉 Full episode: bit.ly/GeriPalEp368
😀 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
😀 Guests: Amy Klein, Laura Morrison, and Gordon Wood

JAGS Remains Committed to Scientific Principles That Support Better Health and Function for All Older Adults: Disparities, Diversity in Research, and Respectful Discourse. #geriatrics @alexsmithmd.bsky.social
agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

How can we best manage #DeathAnxiety? While some don't worry about it, others, including patients and clinicians, grapple with its impact. #medsky
 
👉 Full episode at
geripal.org/death-anxiet...

😀 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
😀 Guests: Dani Chammas & Keri Brenner

Many thanks to contributions from all authors and others who provided valuable feedback on drafts. @amergeriatrics.bsky.social #geriatrics #DEImatters

Renn and friend Evan on hike to Stubai glacier in Tyrollean alps, Austria. (Look closely @geripal.bsky.social)

Should #PalliativeCare be in the business of caring for #CancerSurvivors? It’s more complicated than it seems. We talk with Laura Petrillo and Laura Shoemaker about this topic. #medsky #cancersurvivor

👉 Full episode at bit.ly/GeriPalEp363
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

#Dementia patients having Lucid Episodes can be impactful for family, loved ones, #caregivers, and others. We discuss this impact with nurse researcher Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi & philosopher Andrew Peterson. #medsky
 
bit.ly/GeriPalEp358 - hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Cocota's Story: Life Lessons in Aging, Resilience, and End‐of‐Life Agency From a Brazilian Matriarch Resilience, cultivated across physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and spiritual domains, shapes how older adults navigate late-life challenges yet remains unfamiliar to many clinicians. Drawing on the...

My great-grandmother was born 150 years ago. In this special article
@agsjournal.bsky.social , we tell a little about her story and reflect on resilience and aging. agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @ucsfgeriatrics.bsky.social @alexsmithmd.bsky.social @kencovinsky.bsky.social

Can music play an important role for those at the end of life? What about for dementia patients and caregivers? We examine the role of Music as Medicine with 3 guests: Jenny Chen, Tyler Jorgensen, and Theresa Allison. #medsky
 
bit.ly/GeriPalEp357 - @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Lauren Hunt, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, received the 2025 Terrie Fox Wetle Rising Star Award from @AFARorg for her impactful, multidisciplinary research in health services and aging. Congrats, Dr. Hunt! 👏

Sing-along state of the science at #AGS2025 by @alexsmithmd.bsky.social @kencovinsky.bsky.social @ewidera.bsky.social complete with light sticks at 8:45 am

#WeAreGeriatrics

#ags25 #agslitreview @amergeriatrics.bsky.social @ewidera.bsky.social @alexsmithmd.bsky.social

Spotted at #AGS25.

In this issue of "Stars - They're just like us!"

@alexsmithmd.bsky.social
@geripal.bsky.social
@ucsfgeriatrics.bsky.social
@amergeriatrics.bsky.social

#AGS25 Geri Lit Review @amergeriatrics.bsky.social

Thank you @kencovinsky.bsky.social @alexsmithmd.bsky.social @ewidera.bsky.social for an incredibly fun and memorable learning+sing-along experience about all things #Geriatrics!

@ucsfgeriatrics.bsky.social

Today, people with #HIV are living into advanced ages with nearly half over age 55. So what are the implications for clinical care? for Loneliness? Stigma? Screening? Guests Peter Selwyn and @geri4life.bsky.social
 
bit.ly/GeriPalEp354 - hosted by @alexsmithmd.bsky.social and @ewidera.bsky.social

Thank you @geripal.bsky.social @alexsmithmd.bsky.social @ewidera.bsky.social at the end we talk about how YOU can advocate for HIV service and research cuts. Situation only worse since March when this was recorded. #silence=death

Beware of PULET: Potentially Unsafe Low-Evidence Treatments endorsed by influencers & self-identified experts. We discuss risky therapies like #ivermectin for cancer. Guests Adam Marks, Laura Taylor, & Jill Schneiderhan. #medsky
 
bit.ly/GeriPalEp353 - @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Loss of DEI Hurts Everyone. Pulitzer winner Farah Stockman & healthcare leader Ali Thomas discuss why DEI attacks harm healthcare & society, and how diversity & excellence are aligned. Ken Covinsky ties it to Jackie Robinson’s legacy.
 
bit.ly/GeriPalEp352 - hosted by Drs. Alex Smith and Eric Widera

🎤 It’s the thrill of the CAPC Seminar, rising up to the top!

The hosts of @geripal.bsky.social, @alexsmithmd.bsky.social & @ewidera.bsky.social, are bringing their energy (+ vocals!) to #CAPCSeminar25! Catch their keynote as they break down the latest in palliative care research. ow.ly/JIJY50VeMqf

Bitter end, NYC, guerrilla marketing. Amazing talent on singer songwriter night! bitterend.com/history/

Nancy Lundebjerg & Annie Medina-Walpole interview Alex Smith, Eric Widera, & Ken Covinsky about their final AGS literature review plenary session & discuss favorite articles, parody songs, & memories from AGS meetings past.

bit.ly/GeriPalEp350 - hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

Continued Use of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine in Hospice - PubMed Continued Use of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine in Hospice

Another great paper led by Dr. Lauren Hunt came out this week about #hospice & #dementia, this time regarding "Continued Use of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine", published in JAMA IM @jama.com.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40126467/
1/

So honored to have the inimitable Dr. Mike Malone give his last lecture, and last slide of his academic career with us at @ucsfgeriatrics.bsky.social

Hospice Use Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Parkinson Disease and Dementia With Lewy Bodies - PubMed In this cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries, hospice use patterns differed by dementia subtype. Higher likelihood of hospice revocation in PD raises important questions about unmet needs and…

Drs. @kristalynharrison.bsky.social, @alexsmithmd.bsky.social , John Boscardin, Lauren Hunt & team publish a *JAMA Network Open* study on hospice use among Medicare beneficiaries with Parkinson’s & Lewy Body Dementia. #HospiceCare

Pulling Back the Curtain on Deprescribing Interventions. #geriatrics #deprescribing agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The most prevalent cancer types associated with both short-and long-stay nursing home residents were similar: lung (18.0% vs. 15.5%), breast (9.9% vs. 12.9%), and hematological (9.9% vs. 9.6%) (Figure 1).

1 in 7 Medicaid beneficiaries received care at a nursing home following a new cancer diagnosis, with more than half of these individuals using one for the first time. Lung, breast, and hematological were most prevalent. #gerisky #medsky agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

It's been 50 years since the first Palliative Care unit was opened in Quebec. But have we lost something along the way? #medsky

Guests Sue Britton (1st nurse hired at that 1st PC unit), Michael Kearney, & Justin Sanders.

bit.ly/GeriPalEp347 - hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social