12.20.2023
Palliative Pearls
11.28.2023
Alternating Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes with Advanced Kidney Disease
Patient Case TJ is a 75-year-old male with a primary diagnosis of dementia with secondary conditions of chronic kidney disease (CKD) (not on dialysis) and...
10.23.2023
Reconsidering Pharmacological Interventions for Dementia in Hospice and Palliative Care
While hospice was originally developed primarily for patients with terminal cancer, dementia from all causes (including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s), is now the top principal diagnosis...
09.21.2023
Methadone, Beyond the Basics
This month’s case takes a deeper dive into methadone dosing, going beyond the basics to review the use of methadone “as needed,” for analgesia in...
08.24.2023
A Primer on the Use of Buprenorphine for Pain Management in Hospice
For decades, the synthetic opioid buprenorphine has been primarily used in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) rather than pain management. Today, however, regulatory...
07.12.2023
Five Minor (Yet Troublesome) Symptoms in Hospice Care
Hospice clinicians are well-versed in treating major symptoms such as pain, dyspnea, nausea and delirium, but what about the minor ones? They can negatively impact...
06.22.2023
Ketamine for the Treatment of Refractory Pain
This month, we revisit a popular Palliative Pearls case study published in March 2018. A recent pharmacist review has confirmed that the information in this...
05.23.2023
PEPPER Provides Early Warning of Audit Risk for Hospices 2023
Fewer than half of hospices are prepared for a federal audit or document request. That’s a troubling statistic as scrutiny from federal regulators is on...
04.24.2023
Forest or Trees? Overlooked Contributors to Troublesome Symptoms in Dementia Care
Enclara Senior Clinical Manager, Genoveva “Hennie” Garza, MS Pharm, RPh, has over two decades of experience building collaborative relationships with nurses, physicians and other health...