Background: Chronic pain is a healthcare problem that significantly affects the physical and mental health of patients and impact their quality of life. It can complicate many disorders and represents a common symptom of rheumatologic diseases. Patients with Scleroderma report pulmonary and gastrointestinal symptoms as the limiting factor on their daily functioning, however pain remains [...]

Background: Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks can be traumatic for patients and families, particularly at the end of life. Studies estimate between 51-65% of ICDs remain active at time of death, with 24-31% of patients receiving shocks within the last day of life, and 8% in the last minute of life. The Heart Rhythm Society [...]

Background: When a patient with cancer or terminal illness is hospitalized, they may benefit from the input of their outpatient, primary oncologist or palliative care provider to inform key decisions. As most oncologists’ and ambulatory palliative care clinics are based outside the hospital, these conversations often happen via unreimbursed phone conversations, making it difficult to [...]

Background: Increasing number of palliative care patients are cared for by hospitalists, but the value of hospitalist on end-of-life (EOL) care is scarcely reported. The study aims to evaluate the effect of hospitalist care on the intensive care utilization and medical expenditure for end-of-life hospitalizations. Methods: A three-year retrospective observational study was conducted at a [...]

Case Presentation: The patient is a 74 year old woman with past medical history of dementia and an aggressive right upper lobe cavitary mass who presented with post-obstructive pneumonia. The lung mass was diagnosed two years prior, however the patient refused further workup. The patient named her two daughters to be dual healthcare powers of [...]

Case Presentation: The patient is a 74 year old woman with past history of dementia and an aggressive right upper lobe cavitary mass who presented with post-obstructive pneumonia. The lung mass was diagnosed two years prior, however, the patient refused further workup. The patient named her two daughters to be dual healthcare powers of attorney [...]