ABSTRACT
Introduction: Frailty is a state of diminished physiological reserve and can be assessed using the frailty index. Early management of frailty is crucial for preventing adverse outcomes. Intended for assessing home-living older adults, the initial release of the eFI-CGA software was prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: In addressing the increased need of virtual assessment, the eFI-CGA was upgraded to version 3.0. In this paper, we introduce the updated electronic frailty assessment tool, reporting the newly developed features and validating its use. Results: End-user experiences with the previous versions are discussed. The updated features include a search function to resume disrupted assessments. The improved user interface enabled clinicians to record care management details. Conclusion: This study represents an example of software solutions in moving from disruption to transformation, benefiting healthcare for older adults during this challenging time.
ABSTRACT
Frailty is a state of diminished physiological reserves. Being able to detect and manage frailty early is crucial for effective controlling of frailty-related adverse outcomes. Frailty can be assessed using the frailty index that counts the number of health deficits accumulated over time. Our previous research has enabled an electronic Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (eCGA) and the calculation of the frailty index based on the eCGA (eFI-CGA). While the standalone eFI-CGA has been used by primary care providers in assessing home-living patients, its initial release was prior to the covid-19 pandemic;the associated new challenges were not targeted by the early version. In facilitating effective virtual assessment and care planning during the current “lockdown” and in the upcoming “new normal”, most recently the eFI-CGA version 3.0 was released. In this paper, we 1) introduce the updated electronic frailty assessment tool and its usage, 2) describe the major updates of the software in dealing with challenges due to social isolation and remote assessment, and 3) evaluate the end-user experience with the upgraded methods in frailty assessment. These new developments and implementations allowed a search function to resume disrupted assessment sessions and quickly retrieve previously saved assessment records. The improved user interface promoted the clinicians to conveniently record detailed care plans and management details. The study provided a successful example of moving from disruption to transformation, benefiting the highly demanded healthcare of older adults in this challenging time.