Eric Widera, MD
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ewidera.bsky.social
Eric Widera, MD
@ewidera.bsky.social
Professor of #Medicine @UCSF focused on #Geriatrics, #Hospice, #Palliative care, and #meded. Co-creator of https://eprognosis.ucsf.edu. Podcasts at http://geripal.org 🇺🇦

Publications: https://profiles.ucsf.edu/eric.widera
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
I took up this question in the latest issue of Notes: open.substack.com/pub/familyme...
December 19, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Improve your patient care in older adults by learning with @acpimphysicians.bsky.social full-day #Geriatrics and #Palliative Medicine course intensive on Wednesday, April 15 in San Francisco! Learn more here - annualmeeting.acponline.org/educational-...
December 18, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Link to the JAGS article “Rehab and Death: Improving End-of-Life Care for Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Beneficiaries.” #medsky agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
December 13, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Rehab & Death in Skilled Nursing Facilities is a vicious cycle: Sarguni Singh, Christian Furman, & Lynn Flint explain how hope, policy gaps, & payment rules shape these transitions—and why change is needed. #medsky

👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp384
😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
December 11, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Inflammaging—chronic, low-grade inflammation that rises with age—may be a key driver behind many chronic and acute diseases. We talk with 3 experts: Brian Andonian, Sara LaHue, & Joe Hippensteel. #medsky

👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp383
😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
December 4, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Drs. @ewidera.bsky.social, and Kaitlin Willham co-authored a module in the new @amergeriatrics.bsky.social Alzheimer’s curriculum, edited by Dr. Michael Harper. The curriculum covers new diagnostic tools and treatments for Alzheimer’s. geriatrics.ucsf.edu/news/widera-...
Widera, Willham, and Harper Help Launch New AGS Curriculum on Alzheimer’s Diagnostics and Treatments | Geriatrics
Eric Widera, MD, and Kaitlin Willham, MD, co-authored the module "Evidence Review of FDA-Approved Monoclonal Antibody Treatments," as part of the newly published AGS online curriculum, "Alzheimer's…
geriatrics.ucsf.edu
November 21, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
A chaplain (Betty Clark) and a doctor (Jessica Zitter) reflect on their new documentary, The Chaplain and the Doctor, and the ways personal stories and biases shape our interactions in healthcare. #medsky
 
👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp382
😀 Hosts: @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Hospice & Palliative Care leaders reflect on the past 50 years—and the urgent need to raise standards, ensure access, & lead with love in a profit-driven system. Ira Byock, Kristi Newport, Brynn Bowman. #medsky
 
👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp381
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Sickle cell disease brings lifelong challenges—from severe pain to systemic inequities. Today our guests share how palliative care supports patients through compassion, trust, and whole-person care. 💜 #medsky

👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp380
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Join us! @ewidera.bsky.social & @alexsmithmd.bsky.social are giving UCSF Geriatrics Grand Rounds on Wed., Nov 5, 4-5pm PT.

The topic is "What we've learned from nearly 400 GeriPal podcasts."

Join via zoom or in person.

Via zoom: ucsf.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

See graphic for more info. #medsky
November 1, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Are Slow Codes ever ethical? We dive into the gray area of CPR, shallow compressions, walk don't run, compassion with deceit, outcomes vs values, bioethics vs real world, trust, + more. #medsky

👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp378
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
October 23, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Is faking CPR always wrong? We discuss the defense of the slow code in this weeks podcast. #medsky #bioethics
Are Slow Codes ever ethical? We dive into the gray area of CPR, shallow compressions, walk don't run, compassion with deceit, outcomes vs values, bioethics vs real world, trust, + more. #medsky

👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp378
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Drs. @mararosenberg.bsky.social, @kencovinsky.bsky.social, @alexsmithmd.bsky.social and @ashwinkotwalmd.bsky.social publish in @agsjournal.bsky.social: Social activity restrictions are linked to greater caregiver burden. Read more *When Missing Out Matters* doi.org/10.1111/jgs....
doi.org
October 19, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
GeriPal Live at NPCRC Foley Retreat! We talk with Prasanna Ananth, Dio Kavalieratos, & Alexi Wright about why palliative care clinicians get fired, global care equity, and cancer treatment behind bars. #medsky
 
👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp377
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
October 16, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
GeriPal Live! at CAPC: Matt Gonzales on AI & #palliativecare, Kim Curseen on outpatient training gaps, Karen Bullock on equity in #hospice and palliative care. Plus a fun sing-along finale! #medsky #hpm #hapc

👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp376
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
October 9, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
I did the Junior Reviewer Program at @agsjournal.bsky.social and learned a lot about the publication process and how to better-review papers. And you gey to hang out with @alexsmithmd.bsky.social! It's a great experience.
#geronsky
October 4, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Geriatricians Houman Javedan & Vicky Tang discuss Preoperative Assessments for Older Adults, emphasizing CGAs, frailty screening, and the Geriatric Surgery Verification program to optimize outcomes. #medsky

👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp375
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
September 25, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
A response to a thought-provoking conversation on @geripal.bsky.social familymeetingnotes.substack.com/p/whats-a-go... #medsky #hapc
What's a Good Death...
...apart from a good life?
familymeetingnotes.substack.com
September 20, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Age of Patients in Trials Submitted to the FDA Versus Age in Average Patients With Cancer. #geriatrics agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
September 27, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
What makes a "good death"? We dive into landmark studies: Karen Steinhauser on pain, peace & awareness; Edison Vidal & Rasa Mikelyte on UK/Brazil dementia views—choice vs. faith. Key: Listen to patients! #medsky
 
👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp374
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
September 18, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
A podcast on medical billing & coding? Yes! Billing isn’t hard. Know your worth & bill for it, even if the visit doesn't FEEL hard as it can help pay for team members who often can't bill, and it benefits the patients.
 
👉 Post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp373
😀 Hosts: Drs. Alex Smith and Eric Widera
September 11, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Medicare Advantage plans could be gumming up the entire pipeline from ED visit to hospital discharge through this process. We are already seeing the prolonged ED stays are much more common, which could result from hospital beds being locked up.

www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10....
Hospital ‘Boarding’ Of Patients In The Emergency Department Increasingly Common, 2017–24 | Health Affairs Journal
When hospital beds are scarce, patients “board” in the emergency department until an inpatient bed becomes available. Using national data on 46.2 million hospitalizations, 2017–24, we documented rising burdens of hospital boarding in the US. At the peak in January 2022, 40.1 percent of patients boarded for more than four hours, and 6.3 percent boarded for more than twenty-four hours.
www.healthaffairs.org
September 8, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
A Danish Perspective on AGS25: Surprises, Lessons, and Shared Purpose: “AGS25 reminded us that geriatrics is both a specialty and a shared ethos—rooted in complexity, guided by compassion, and shaped by global dialog." agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
September 7, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
GeriPACTs bring specialized team-based care to older veterans with complex needs - smaller panels, geriatric training & more social work/pharmacy support. But are they better than standard care? #medsky

👉 Blog post: bit.ly/GeriPalEp372
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
September 4, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Do Dementia Care Management Programs Work? We’ve invited David Reuben & Greg Sachs to talk about their two respective trials, published in JAMA — D-CARE and IN-PEACE. #medsky

👉 Full episode: bit.ly/GeriPalEp371
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social

#dementia #dementiacare
August 28, 2025 at 8:45 PM