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Click above for subtitles and click the magnifying glass for a searchable transcript.
In This Episode:
Dr. K talks with geriatrician Muriel Gillick MD, Professor at Harvard Medical School, about her latest book, The Caregiver’s Encylopedia: A Compassionate Guide to Caring for Older Adults. They discuss:
- Why it’s so important for family members to be informed and proactive
- Why Dr. Gillick recommends starting by understanding your relative’s overall health state
- How to recognize frailty, and why it’s essential to be aware of it
- Whether frailty can be reversed by exercise, and the pro and cons of pushing an older parent to exercise
- The importance of “goals of care”, and what to do when trade-offs become necessary
- How to ask an older person about what matters most to them
- How to let the doctors know what an older person wants from their healthcare
- How to get older adults — and healthcare professionals — to value the involvement of the family member
- The importance of someone in the family being able to advocate for better care
Related episodes:
086 – Interview: Creating Age-Friendly Health Systems at UCSF
071 – Interview: How Estimating Life Expectancy Helps Older Adults Get Better Care
Related Resources:
- To buy Dr. Gillick’s book at a discount, visit this link at Johns Hopkins University Press and use code “HTWN” to save 30%: The Caregiver’s Encylopedia: A Compassionate Guide to Caring for Older Adults.
- Dr. Gillick’s blog: Life in the End Zone
- Dr. Gillick’s recent article in NY Times: Keeping Older People Safe During the Coronavirus Crisis
- Discussing what matters: PatientPrioritiesCare.org
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