Learn how palliative care can meet the healthcare needs of the future.
My guest Dr. John Mulder is a pioneering member of the palliative care specialty. He currently serves as chief medical consultant for hospice and palliative car at Holland Home, the largest provider of elder care services in Michigan. He also serves as executive director for the Trillium Institute, which provides education for clinicians on managing serious and terminal illness. He discusses some of the challenges facing palliative care currently and in the future of this specialty. Learn more at this website:
This episode includes:
- The differences between hospice and palliative care
- Why the general public and physicians need to reframe their understanding of palliative care
- Why the 6 months criteria for hospice admission often interferes with patients receiving care that they need
- Should hospice and palliative care “rebrand” or “rename” in order to overcome stigmas
- Why referring patients to palliative care could help physicians with burnout
- How palliative care can improve patient outcomes and quality of life
- How physicians can better educate their peers about palliative care and hospice
- What changes will be needed to meet the rising demands of the aging baby boomer population
- Why primary palliative care training will be essential in the future
- The importance of attracting new talent to the speciality
- How technology may evolve in the future to assist with referrals to palliative and hospice care
- Dr. Mulder’s new podcast: Palliative Matters
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
- Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
- Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
- Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my new patrons Monica Czaplinski and Jeannie Canepa! Your contributions make all the difference.
In Part 4 of our series on palliative care I share an interview with Stephanie Ryu a palliative care chaplain. She’ll discuss her role providing spiritual support to patients with advanced illness. 
My awesome Spain trip is at an end as this episode airs and I’ll be making my way back to Colorado! You can check out all of my pictures on 
In Part 3 of our series on palliative care I share an interview with Andrea Strouth MSW a social worker on the palliative care team. She’ll talk about her role on the team to help us understand why social workers play an important part in the care of patients with advanced illness. 
At the time of this broadcast I’m still enjoying my Spain trip – probably eating some tapas in Barcelona! I’ll be returning home in a few weeks but meanwhile check out my photos on 