Geriatric Palliative Care

• Section 1 Overview: The Social & Cultural Context of Old Age & Frailty1: John E. Wennberg, MD, MPH, and Susan W. Tolle, MD: Variability in End-of-Life Care in the United States2: Robert N. Butler: Developmental Challenges and Opportunities for "Growth": The Inner Life at the End of Life3: J. Randall Curtis, MD, MPH, and Donald L. Patrick, PhD, MSPH: Assessing Quality of Life and Quality of Dying in the Elderly: Implications for Clinical Practice of Palliative Medicine4: Stephen G. Post: The Place of Love in the Care of Persons with Advanced Dementia5: Colleen Christmas, MD and Tom Finucane, MD: Artificial Nutrition and Hydration6: Daniel Callahan, PhD, and Eva Topinkova, MD, PhD: Age, Rationing, and Palliative Care7: Linda Emanuel, MD, PhD, Madelyn A. Iris, PhD, and James R. Webster, MS, MD: Ethical Aspects of Geriatric Palliative Care8: Marion Danis, MD, and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD: Respecting Diversity in Geriatric Palliative CareDisease and Syndrome-Specific Aspects of Palliative Care9: Jeremy D. Walston, MD, and Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH: Frailty and its Implication for Care10: Julia M. Addington-Hall, PhD, honMFPHM, Angie Rogers, MSc, Anne McCoy, MSc, J. Simon R. Gibbs, MD, FRCP: Heart Disease11: Natalie R. Sacks, MD, and Janet L. Abrahm, MD: Cancer12: Steven R. Flanagan, MD and Stanley Tuhrim, MD: Stroke: Prognosis, Treatment, and Rehabilitation13: Ellen Olson, MD: Dementia and Neuro-Degenerative Diseases14: John P. Kremarik, MD, Thomas J. Predergast, MD, E. Wesley Ely, MD, and James R. Runo, MD: Chronic Lung Disease and Lung Cancer15: Lewis M. Cohen, MD, Michael Germain, MD, and Maura Brennan, MD: End Stage Renal Disease and Discontinuation of DialysisSymtom Distress in Older Patients16: Bruce A. Ferrell, MD and Elizabeth Whiteman, MD: Pain17: Cynthia X. Pan, MD: Dyspnea18: Nigel P. Sykes, MA, BM, BCh, FRCGP: Gastrointestinal Syptoms19: Deborah Witt Sherman, PhD, RN, ANP, CS and Marianne LaPorte Matzo, PhD, RN, GNP, CS: Fatigue20: Elizabeth Goy, PhD, and Linda Ganzini, MD: Delirium, Anxiety, and DepressionCommunication21: Joan M. Teno, MD, MS: Advance Care Planning for Frail, Older Persons22: James A. Tulsky, MD: Doctor-Patient Communication23: Timothy E. Quill, MD and Robert McCann, MD: Decision-Making for the Cognitively ImpairedStructures of Care for the Chronically Ill with Palliative Care Needs24: Janice Lynch, MFA, Sarah Myers, MPH, Susan K. Rogers, MS, BSN,CHPN, Susan Emmer, Esq., and Joanne Lynn, MD: Can We Make the Health-Care System Work?25: John M. Carter, MD and Eileen Chichin, PhD: Palliative Care in the Nursing Home26: Carol Levine, MA: Family Caregivers: Burdens and Opportunities27: Knight Steel, MD and Caroline Vitale, MD: Home Care for Frail Older Adults28: Daniel Fischberg, MD and Diane Meier, MD: Hospital-Based Palliative Care

This book should be of great value to geriatricians as they strive to deliver optimal care for their patients. but I think it will also be very useful for palliative care professionals. Many of the patients we look after are older adults and this book provides useful insights as to how we might improve their overall care. It will certainly be on the library shelf at my palliative care service.