This special series on “Outpatient Palliative Care in Geriatric Clinics” is edited by Drs. Pragnesh Patel, Susan Nathan and Lara Skarf.

Pragnesh Patel, MD
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

Dr. Pragnesh Patel is a Geriatrician and Hospice and Palliative care physician at Detroit Medical Center/Wayne State University, School of Medicine. He is Professor of medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine, Chief of Geriatric division and Program Director for Geriatric fellowship program. He has interest in frailty, sleep in long-term care and looking at the disparities in health in Elderly African American population.

Susan Nathan, MD
VA Boston Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA

Dr. Susan Nathan is a Geriatrician and Hospice and Palliative Medicine physician at VA Boston Healthcare System and is the site director of the My Life, My Story program at VA Boston. She is an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an adjunct Instructor in Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. She is interested in the role of patient story in healthcare as well as education around serious illness communication and creating innovative interprofessional educational experiences within Palliative Care.

Lara Skarf, MD
VA Boston Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA

Dr. Lara Michal Skarf is Chief of the Section of Palliative Care at the VA Boston Healthcare System. She is the Associate Fellowship Director for the BIDMC-VA Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. In her role at the Boston VA, she oversees clinical innovations and educational initiatives related to palliative care. Her focus is on integrating palliative care into diverse care settings. She established integrated palliative care clinics within oncology, pulmonary and nephrology. Dr. Skarf provides clinical care on the inpatient consult service, the ambulatory area, the hospice and palliative care unit and the inpatient medical service. She has served as the palliative care site director for the Harvard Multicampus Geriatric Fellowship Program for over ten years and established a joint geriatric and palliative care monthly curriculum attended by the BIDMC Geriatric and Palliative Medicine fellows.

Series outline:

1. Palliative care in the older adult with advanced lung disease
2. Palliative care in the older adult with advanced kidney disease
3. Cultural considerations in palliative care for the older adult
4. Palliative care in the older adult with advanced cardiac disease
5. Palliative care in the older adult with multimorbidity and frailty
6. Palliative care in the older adult veteran
7. Palliative care considerations for the older adult with HIV/AIDS in outpatient geriatrics
8. Palliative care in the older adult with cancer: the role of the geriatrician
9. Palliative care in the older adult with dementia
10. Pain management and risk mitigation among the older adults. The role of pharmacist across care settings
11. Interdisciplinary palliative care of the older adult: It takes a village

Disclosure:
The series “Outpatient Palliative Care in Geriatric Clinics” was commissioned by the editorial office, Annals of Palliative Medicine without any sponsorship or funding. Pragnesh Patel, Susan Nathan and Lara Skarf are serving as unpaid Guest Editors for the series.