The Folly of Unforeseen Consequences: Let’s Talk About Telehealth

By Rebecca Gagne-Henderson PhD, APRN, ACHPN There is a place for telehealth.  Those in rural areas are the most obvious recipients who would benefit from this care model. It affords rural residents access to care, and it goes a long way to solving that problem. However, even in this case, telehealth is not the panacea that … Continue reading The Folly of Unforeseen Consequences: Let’s Talk About Telehealth

Starvation, Dehydration & the Physiology of Death

by Rebecca Gagne-Henderson PhD ACHPN APRN This blog is written for both clinicians and interested human beings. It describes what happens physiologically if we are allowed to die naturally.  A caveat is that for the healthy living individual “it ain’t pretty”, but for the dying individual, it is an incredibly beautiful and mysterious mechanism.  Again, to the … Continue reading Starvation, Dehydration & the Physiology of Death

Overtreatment, the River Styx and End-of-Life Conversations 

by Rebecca Gagne-Henderson PhD, APRN, ACHPN We find ourselves in an era of frequent and normalized overtreatment of the very old and very ill. This overtreatment contributes to frailty and debility, which leads to the institutionalization of those unfortunates to lay and wait for death to come. Overtreatment includes interventions that have little to no … Continue reading Overtreatment, the River Styx and End-of-Life Conversations