Dr. Gil Kimel

Location

St. Paul’s Hospital

Bio

Dr. Gil Kimel is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Palliative Care. He is also the Medical Director for Palliative Care for Providence Health Care. His clinical practice is focused on palliative medicine at St. Paul’s Hospital, Mount St. Joseph Hospital, and St. John Hospice at UBC. He has completed subspecialty training in medical oncology and a fellowship in palliative medicine at UBC.

Dr. Kimel’s area of interest is heart failure supportive care and he has established, along with the heart transplant team, a multidisciplinary clinic specializing in the care of patients with advanced heart failure. He is the UBC principal investigator for a CIHR-funded qualitative study assessing the experience of patients being treated for heart failure.

Research

• Management of malignant pain and dyspnea
• Studying dyspnea in patients with advanced heart failure

Transition to palliative care when transcatheter aortic valve implantation is not an option: Opportunities and recommendations
http://bit.ly/2rR2zuD
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is the recommended treatment for most patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis at high surgical risk. However, TAVI may be clinically futile for patients who have multiple comorbidities and excessive frailty. This group benefits from transition to palliative care to maximize quality of life, improve symptoms, and ensure continuity of health services. We discuss the clinical determination of utility and futility, explore the current evidence guiding the integration of palliative care in procedure-focused cardiac programs, and outline recommendations for TAVI programs.

Teaching