Telehealth, the use of computers, tablets, smart phones or telephones to receive healthcare services at home, as opposed to a doctor’s office, has been in use for a while, but it has recently gained acceptance due to the coronavirus pandemic. The need for telehealth has never been greater. Telehealth helps alleviate the shortage of doctors [...]
Dr. Karen J. Warren Source: Cortney S. Warren C/O Meghan Poort “Our ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death but a good life to the very end.” ―Atul Gawande, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End Death is a reality of life. It is a part of life. It is an inevitable [...]
Serendipity led the California physician and member of Compassion & Choices’ Latino Leadership Council to an unplanned focus in palliative care. by Sonja Aliesch As a primary care physician in Los Angeles, Dr. Daniel Turner-Lloveras has been dedicated to providing care to vulnerable populations within the Watts and Skid Row areas of the city since [...]
Data show growing participation and underscore the need to improve access and increase diversity. by Alyson Lynch This month, Hawaii and California departments of health released 2019 annual reports on their respective medical aid-in-dying laws. These reports provide data on how many people utilized medical aid in dying, how many doctors wrote prescriptions and other [...]
As protests for racial justice in Portland continue and new images of the federal response emerge, I want to express my concern for the safety of the many Compassion & Choices staff, supporters, volunteers and allies who live there. Please know that we are thinking of you during this tumultuous time. As a mom myself, [...]
Working to Realize Greater Humanity at Life’s End: A Note From the CEO Compassion & Choices is expanding our efforts to address disparities at the end of life. As we enter the lazy days of summer, I can’t help but think it is anything but. The sight of George Floyd dying on the streets of [...]
Article Highlights Surveys suggest that a vast majority of people would like to discuss their end-of-life care (EOL) choices, but very few actually do so. Physicians often receive insufficient training in effective EOL communication. Health care providers cite a lack of confidence in broaching the subject with patients and/or caregivers. EOL communication needs to be [...]
Remarkable advances in medical care are helping us live longer. But that means there also are an increasing number of people living with advancing serious illness. The vast majority understand they are living with a terminal condition, yet they and their families are unprepared for the final stages of life. Relatively few have had discussions with their physicians [...]
Last month, Minna Buck revised a document specifying her wishes should she become critically ill. “No intubation,” she wrote in large letters on the form, making sure to include the date and her initials. Buck, 91, had been following the news about covid-19. She knew her chances of surviving a serious bout of the illness [...]
An ardent early supporter and member of Compassion & Choices’ African American Leadership Council, Dr. Silva was instrumental in our campaign to pass D.C.’s Death with Dignity Act. by Sonja Aliesch May 20, 2020 Our movement lost a beloved ally last month with the death of Omega Silva, M.D. A retired Washington, D.C., physician who [...]
