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
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
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
We discuss the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, what it is, benefits, JAGS study showing it's more cost-effective vs usual care, & who it helps the most. #medsky
  
👉 Full Ep: bit.ly/GeriPalEp370
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
😀 Guests: Eric Wong & Thiago Avelino-Silva
August 21, 2025 at 8:38 PM
The vibe at european soccer games always impresses me (took this pic in Stockholm at the Svenska Cupen)
August 16, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
We talk with Todd Semla & Mike Steinman about their new recommendations of Alternative Treatments to the AGS Beers Criteria published recently in JAGS. #medsky
 
We start with Todd's new pothole analogy😂
 
👉 Full episode: bit.ly/GeriPalEp369
😀 hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
August 14, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Announcing the launch of JAGS-AI & TECH - a call to action for clinicians, researchers, & innovators to come together, challenge conventions, and build a future where technology enhances humanity, not replaces it. #geriatrics agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
July 29, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Providence Health Care System increased their Goals of Care conversation documentation from 7% to 85%. How did they achieve this? And how can you? #medsky

👉 Full episode bit.ly/GeriPalEp366
😀 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
😀 Guests: Ira Byock, Chris Dale, and Matt Gonzales
July 24, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
How can we best manage #DeathAnxiety? While some don't worry about it, others, including patients and clinicians, grapple with its impact. #medsky
 
👉 Full episode at
geripal.org/death-anxiet...

😀 Hosts @alexsmithmd.bsky.social | @ewidera.bsky.social
😀 Guests: Dani Chammas & Keri Brenner
July 17, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Eric Widera, MD
Great discussion. In this existential space, "anxiety" isn't how we think of it in psychiatric terms, but rather it's a motivating force; it ranges from concern to terror. It can show up in innumerable, unexpected ways, as @danichammas.bsky.social observes. #medsky #hapc
July 17, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Don’t fear the reaper? On today’s podcast we talk about death anxiety and how to manage it (or at least live with it).

#palliativecare #geriatrics #medicine #nursing #hospice

geripal.org/death-anxiet...
Death Anxiety: Dani Chammas & Keri Brenner
This week on the GeriPal Podcast, we discuss Death Anxiety, what it is, how it impacts patients and clinicians, plus more - with guests Dani Chammas & Keri Brenner.
geripal.org
July 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM