Implementation of a Multicomponent Otago-Based Virtual Fall Reduction, Education, and Exercise Program (MOVing FREEly) in Older Veterans.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic limited access to community fall prevention programs, thus establishing the need for virtual interventions. Herein, we describe the feasibility, effectiveness, and acceptability of a virtual, multicomponent fall prevention program (MOVing FREEly). METHODS: A team of clinical falls prevention experts developed a six-week multicomponent fall prevention exercise and education class for older community-dwelling adults at risk of falling. Feasibility was measured through class attendance; effectiveness was measured through changes in performance measures, self-report of falling risk, and concern about falling; acceptability was assessed through questionnaires completed immediately upon program completion and at a three-month follow up. RESULTS: A total of 32 patients participated in the MOVing FREEly program. Attendance for education and exercise classes on average was greater than 80% with little attrition. Patient reported reduced concern of falling, improvement in the falls efficacy scale-international (FES-I) short form, and had statistically significant improvement in 30 s sit-to-stand and single-leg balance tests. The program was well received by participants, saving them significant time and costs of travel. CONCLUSIONS: A virtual, multicomponent fall prevention program is feasible and acceptable and effective as reducing falling risk. Future studies can explore the ability of this program to reduce falling incident and injury.

Creation of a Whole Health Age-Friendly Template and Dashboard Facilitates Implementation of 4Ms into Primary Care.

The Veterans Administration has joined the Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) movement as part of its Whole Health initiative to provide safe, high-quality geriatric care using a set of evidence-based practices known as the "4Ms"-What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility-to provide care across all care settings. Two healthcare centers utilized an automated review of 4Ms care. For non-templated notes in the TVHS GeriPACT clinic over a 30-day period, all the 4Ms health factors (HFs) were addressed in only 1% of patients, and 16% had three HFs, 37% had two HFs, and 71% had one HF addressed. During the pilot of a new templated note and associated dashboard at the RICVAMC, GeriPACT and Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) addressed all the age-friendly health factors in 41% of patients, while 24% had three health factors, 10% had two health factors, and 13% had one health factor addressed, and 10% were indeterminate by manual review. For both facilities, What Matters Most had the lowest prevalence, representing the most difficult individual health factor to address. The use of a templated note improves the reliable delivery of age-friendly care compared to non-templated notes and facilitates the dashboard display of practice- and provider-specific age-friendly encounter data, which may provide useful QI information to clinicians and health systems.

Dementia Caregiver Virtual Support-An Implementation Evaluation of Two Pragmatic Models during COVID-19.

Caregivers of people with Alzheimer's and related dementias (ADRD) require support. Organizations have pivoted from traditional in-person support groups to virtual care in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe two model programs and their pragmatic implementation of virtual care platforms for ADRD caregiver support. A mixed methods analysis of quantitative outcomes as well as a thematic analysis from semi-structured interviews of facilitators was performed as part of a pragmatic quality improvement project to enhance delivery of virtual support services for ADRD caregivers. Implementation differed among individual organizations but was well received by facilitators and caregivers. While virtual platforms can present challenges, older adults appreciated the strength of group facilitators and reported enhanced connectedness related to virtual support. Barriers to success include the limitations of virtual programming, including technological issues and distractions from program delivery. Virtual support can extend outreach, addressing access and providing safe care during a pandemic. Implementation differs among organizations; however, some elements of virtual support may be long-lasting.

Opioid Management in Older Adults: Lessons Learned From a Geriatric Patient-Centered Medical Home.

BACKGROUND: The United States continues to confront an opioid crisis that also affects older adults. Best practices for prescription opioid management in older adults are challenging to implement in this population. We present our experience with a 1-year management of 48 high-risk older patients who received guideline-based best practices for chronic prescription opioid therapy at a US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) patient aligned care team (PACT) patient-centered medical home. METHODS: The GeriPACT population at the Nashville Campus of the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System has an enrollment of 745 patients of whom 48 (6.5%) receive chronic prescription opioid therapy. The practice is supported by the VA Computerized Patients Record System, including the electronic patient portal, My healtheVet, and telemedicine capabilities. Data were collected by chart review and operations data. RESULTS: The mean (range) age of patients was 70.4 (66-93) years. Many patients had comorbid conditions, such as diabetes mellitus (35%), congestive heart failure (18.6%), and dementia (8.3%). More than half had an estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) < 60 mL/min, indicating at least stage 3 chronic kidney disease, 41.7% used mental health services (41.7%), and 20.8% had a history of opioid use disorder. Most indications for chronic pain were for musculoskeletal pain (95.8%). The mean (range) morphine equivalent daily dose was 37 mg (10-109). More than half had been seen in the emergency department, and 20.8% had been hospitalized in the previous year for an opioid-related hospitalization, and 3% had expired. Over the year, dose reductions of benzodiazepines or narcotics was performed for 12.5% of patients, accidental overdoses occurred in 4.2%, and positive urine drug screens (UDSs) for cocaine and cannabinoid/tetrahydrocannabinol occurred in 10.4%. One patient was terminated from the program for multiple positive UDSs. CONCLUSIONS: Guideline-based patient-centered medical home management of patients with chronic pain who were treated with opioids can be an effective model contributing to the health and well-being of older patients. Complex older patients on chronic opioid treatment are best managed by an interdisciplinary team.

The GeriPACT Initiative to Prevent All-Cause 30-Day Readmission in High Risk Elderly.

BACKGROUND: Suboptimal care transitions increases the risk of adverse events resulting from poor care coordination among providers and healthcare facilities. The National Transition of Care Coalition recommends shifting the discharge paradigm from discharge from the hospital, to transfer with continuous management. The patient centered medical home is a promising model, which improves care coordination and may reduce hospital readmissions. METHODS: This is a quality improvement report, the geriatric patient-aligned care team (GeriPACT) at Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) participated in ongoing quality improvement (Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA)) cycles during teamlet meetings. Post home discharge follow-up for GeriPACT patients was provided by proactive telehealth communication by the Registered Nurse (RN) care manager and nurse practitioner. Periodic operations data obtained from the Data and Statistical Services (DSS) coordinator informed the PDSA cycles and teamlet meetings. RESULTS: at baseline (July 2018-June 2019) the 30-day all-cause readmission for GeriPACT was 21%. From July to December 2019, 30-day all-cause readmissions were 13%. From January to June 2020, 30-day all-cause readmissions were 15%. CONCLUSION: PDSA cycles with sharing of operations data during GeriPACT teamlet meetings and fostering a shared responsibility for managing high-risk patients contributes to improved outcomes in 30-day all-cause readmissions.

Geriatric Care Models.

This Special Issue on geriatric care models features 18 papers highlighting the evolving nature of healthcare delivery and the leadership and quality enhancement research provided by geriatric care models [...].

Reaching Out to Rural Caregivers and Veterans with Dementia Utilizing Clinical Video-Telehealth.

CONTEXT: A clinical video telehealth (CVT) program was implemented to improve access and quality of dementia care to patients and their caregivers in rural areas. The program was offered as part of an established dementia clinic/geriatric primary care clinic in collaboration with five community-based outpatient clinics (CBOC's) affiliated with the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) in middle Tennessee. Telehealth support was provided by a physician-social worker team visit. METHODS: Telehealth training and equipment were provided to clinic personnel, functioning part-time with other collateral clinical duties. Patients and caregivers were referred by primary care providers and had an average of one to two CVT encounters originating at their local CBOC lasting 20 to 30 min. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients and caregivers receiving CVT support were collected by retrospective electronic medical record (EMR) review. RESULTS: Over a 3-year period 45 CVT encounters were performed on patient-caregiver dyads, followed for a mean of 15 (1-36) months. Some 80% patients had dementia confirmed and 89% of these had serious medical comorbidities, took an average of eight medications, and resided at a distance of 103 (76-148) miles from the medical center. Dementia patients included 33% with late stage dementia, 25% received additional care from a mental health provider, 23% took antipsychotic medications, 19% transitioned to a higher level of care, and 19% expired an average of 10.2 months following consultation. Significant caregiver distress was present in 47% of family members. Consult recommendations included 64% community-based long-term care services and supports (LTSS), 36% medications, and 22% further diagnostic testing. Acceptance of the CVT encounter was 98%, with 8770 travel miles saved. CONCLUSIONS: CVT is well received and may be helpful in providing dementia care and supporting dementia caregivers to obtain LTSS for high-need older adults in rural areas.

Geriatrics Evaluation and Management in the Veterans Administration-An Historical Perspective.

Comprehensive geriatric assessment, defined as an interdisciplinary assessment and development of an overall plan of treatment and follow-up, has become a fundamental part of clinical geriatric care. Since the 1970s, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has encouraged the development of geriatric evaluation and management programs. Evolution of geriatric evaluation and management has occurred over time and many VA medical centers have transferred inpatient geriatric evaluation programs to long-term care Community Living Centers, home, and outpatient settings. Availability of geriatric resources and trained personnel across the continuum of care as well as administrative collaboration between care components are critical to the successful implementation of geriatric services. Facilities may need to prioritize their resources and utilize the most effective and relevant elements of geriatric evaluation and management according to patient population needs, available space, resources, and institutional priorities. New risk assessment tools derived from the VA's experience in geriatric evaluation may be useful for targeting services for other high-risk populations.

The Importance of Geriatric Care Models.

I am delighted to edit this Special Issue of Geriatrics focusing on Geriatric Care Models. [...].

Impact of Clinical Pharmacy Specialists on the Design and Implementation of a Quality Improvement Initiative to Decrease Inappropriate Medications in a Veterans Affairs Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND: As the proportion of older adult patients who interface with the health care system grows, clinical pharmacy specialists (CPS) have a pivotal role in reducing potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use in this population. OBJECTIVES: To (a) describe CPS involvement in the design and implementation of a quality improvement (QI) initiative to decrease PIM prescribing in a Veterans Affairs (VA) emergency department (ED) and (b) report on changes in PIM prescribing before and after the initiative. METHODS: Enhancing Quality of Prescribing Practices for Veterans Discharged from the Emergency Department (EQUiPPED) is an ongoing multisite QI project that aims to decrease ED PIM prescribing. We used a mixed-method approach that applied qualitative and quantitative measures in describing the CPS role and evaluating PIM rates. PIMs were defined using the 2012 Beers Criteria. We reported monthly PIM rates in patients aged 65 years and older who were discharged from the ED from January 2012 to November 2014. A piecewise, nonlinear regression model evaluated the pattern in PIM prescriptions over time. RESULTS: At the Durham, North Carolina, VA Medical Center, a total of 4 CPS were involved with tailoring the design and implementation of the EQUiPPED intervention for local use. CPS input led to 3 key innovations: academic detailing performed by a physician-CPS pair, medication alert messages identifying medications as PIMs in the computerized patient record system, and automated reports describing the frequency and type of PIMs prescribed by each ED provider. Between February 2013 and November 2014, 73 ED providers received the academic detailing. The ED facility experienced a relative reduction of 47.5% in the rate of PIM prescribing over the observation period. CONCLUSIONS: This QI project resulted in a meaningful decrease in PIM prescribing in older ED adults. CPS contributions to QI can extend beyond pharmacotherapy and provider education to also include information technology tools using formulary management expertise.

A Model of Regulatory Alignment to Enhance the Long-Term Care Survey Process in a Veterans Health Care Network.

Regulatory oversight aims to promote quality of care in US nursing homes. A survey of long-term care (LTC) inspection practices in a Veterans Administration network in 2006 revealed great variability in monitoring and reporting processes, with opportunities for improvement. Modern organization theory and the PARIHS Implementation Framework provide a model for process improvement to enhance oversight for LTC facilities. Over a 3-year time frame, 6 facility inspection teams utilized a modified Delphi approach to arrive at and adopt a standardized structured inspection process. In the 2 districts where 10 facility contracts were terminated for quality deficits identified as a result of process improvement, Star Ratings of approved facilities improved (3.2 to 3.3). The 10 facilities terminated had a mean rating of 1.2 (0.48) (t = 3.87, P < .01). Standardization of a structured LTC inspection process enhances organizational oversight and may contribute to improved quality of care.

Using natural language processing to provide personalized learning opportunities from trainee clinical notes.

OBJECTIVE: Assessment of medical trainee learning through pre-defined competencies is now commonplace in schools of medicine. We describe a novel electronic advisor system using natural language processing (NLP) to identify two geriatric medicine competencies from medical student clinical notes in the electronic medical record: advance directives (AD) and altered mental status (AMS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical notes from third year medical students were processed using a general-purpose NLP system to identify biomedical concepts and their section context. The system analyzed these notes for relevance to AD or AMS and generated custom email alerts to students with embedded supplemental learning material customized to their notes. Recall and precision of the two advisors were evaluated by physician review. Students were given pre and post multiple choice question tests broadly covering geriatrics. RESULTS: Of 102 students approached, 66 students consented and enrolled. The system sent 393 email alerts to 54 students (82%), including 270 for AD and 123 for AMS. Precision was 100% for AD and 93% for AMS. Recall was 69% for AD and 100% for AMS. Students mentioned ADs for 43 patients, with all mentions occurring after first having received an AD reminder. Students accessed educational links 34 times from the 393 email alerts. There was no difference in pre (mean 62%) and post (mean 60%) test scores. CONCLUSIONS: The system effectively identified two educational opportunities using NLP applied to clinical notes and demonstrated a small change in student behavior. Use of electronic advisors such as these may provide a scalable model to assess specific competency elements and deliver educational opportunities.

Development of a level 1 geriatric outpatient social work screen in a veterans primary care clinic.

Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) provide primary care to veterans. We describe our experience in a PACT (average age 66, 98% men, 8 medications, 16% yearly hospitalization rate) using a nurse-administered screen to identify patients in need of intervention by a Masters-level Social Worker. Our screening results--98% Positive predictive value (included social work concerns) and 73% negative predictive value (excluded social work concerns)--suggest that the nurse accurately identified patients. Another 15% of patients were identified by the social worker. Similar screens used in interprofessional clinics could help target patients in need of further social work care.

Care transitions: a leverage point for safe and effective medication use in older adults--a mini-review.

Older adults often face challenges as they transition out of the acute care hospital, especially with regard to adhering to their medications. In this narrative review, we discuss medication adherence in older adults across the continuum of care, describing reasons for nonadherence, methods to assess adherence and tools to improve adherence, with particular focus on emerging techniques and technologies. Taking steps at care transitions to assess medications and foster adherence to the medication regimen can increase the safety of older adults following hospitalization.

Common presentations of elder abuse in health care settings.

Health care professionals encounter elder abuse in the community and in medical offices, emergency rooms, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. Keen awareness of risk factors for elder abuse and the variety of presentations in different health settings helps promote detection, treatment, and prevention of elder abuse.

Electronic surveillance and pharmacist intervention for vulnerable older inpatients on high-risk medication regimens.

OBJECTIVES: To develop and evaluate an electronic tool to assist clinical pharmacists with reviewing potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in hospitalized elderly adults. DESIGN: Pilot intervention. SETTING: Academic tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Hospitalized adults aged 65 and older admitted to the general medicine, orthopedics, and urology services during a 3-week period in 2011 who were administered at least one medication from a list of 240 PIMs. INTERVENTION: A computerized PIMS dashboard flagged individuals with at least one administered PIM or a high calculated anticholinergic score. The dashboard also displayed 48-hour cumulative narcotic and benzodiazepine administration. Participants were ranked to reflect the estimated risk of an adverse event using logical combinations of data (e.g., use of multiple sedatives in a nonmonitored location). In a pilot implementation, a clinical pharmacist reviewed the flagged records and delivered an immediate point-of-care intervention for the treating physician. MEASUREMENTS: Clinician response to pharmacist intervention. RESULTS: The PIMS dashboard flagged 179 of 797 individuals (22%) admitted over a 3-week period and 485 participant-medication pairs for review by the clinical pharmacist. Seventy-one participant records with 139 participant-medication pairs required additional manual review of the electronic medical record. Twenty-two participants receiving 40 inappropriate medication orders were judged to warrant an intervention, which was delivered by personal communication over the telephone or text message. Clinicians enacted 31 of 40 (78%) pharmacist recommendations. CONCLUSION: An electronic PIM dashboard provided an efficient mechanism for clinical pharmacists to rapidly screen the medication regimens of hospitalized elderly adults and deliver a timely point-of-care intervention when indicated.

Impaired arousal at initial presentation predicts 6-month mortality: an analysis of 1084 acutely ill older patients.

OBJECTIVES: Impaired arousal signifies underlying brain dysfunction, but its clinical significance outside the intensive care unit remains unclear. We sought to determine if impaired arousal at initial presentation was associated with higher 6-month mortality and if this relationship existed in the absence of delirium. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: An emergency department located within an academic, tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1084 noncomatose patients who were aged 65 years or older. MEASUREMENTS: The Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) is a 10-second arousal scale; a score of 0 indicates normal arousal. Cox proportional hazard regression was performed adjusting for patient characteristics, admission status, and psychoactive medication administration. To determine if impaired arousal in the absence of delirium was associated with 6-month mortality, Cox proportional hazard regression was performed in a subset of 406 patients who received a psychiatric assessment; the inverse weighted propensity score method was used to minimize residual confounding. Hazard ratios (HR) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were reported. RESULTS: Patients with impaired arousal were 73% more likely to die within 6 months (HR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.21-2.49). Even in the absence of delirium, patients with an abnormal RASS were more likely to die within 6 months (HR: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.10-4.41). CONCLUSION: Impaired arousal at initial presentation is an independent predictor of death within 6 months in a diverse group of acutely ill older patients, even in the absence of delirium. Routine RASS assessment of arousal during clinical care may be warranted as it correlates with prognosis.

Validation of the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit in older emergency department patients.

OBJECTIVES: In the emergency department (ED), health care providers miss delirium approximately 75% of the time, because they do not routinely screen for this syndrome. The Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) is a brief (<1 minute) delirium assessment that may be feasible for use in the ED. The study objective was to determine its validity and reliability in older ED patients. METHODS: In this prospective observational cohort study, patients aged 65 years or older were enrolled at an academic, tertiary care ED from July 2009 to February 2012. An emergency physician (EP) and research assistants (RAs) performed the CAM-ICU. The reference standard for delirium was a comprehensive (~30 minutes) psychiatrist assessment using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision criteria. All assessments were blinded to each other and were conducted within 3 hours. Sensitivities, specificities, and likelihood ratios were calculated for both the EP and the RAs using the psychiatrist's assessment as the reference standard. Kappa values between the EP and RAs were also calculated to measure reliability. RESULTS: Of 406 patients enrolled, 50 (12.3%) had delirium. The median age was 73.5 years old (interquartile range [IQR] = 69 to 80 years), 202 (49.8%) were female, and 57 (14.0%) were nonwhite. The CAM-ICU's sensitivities were 72.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 58.3% to 82.5%) and 68.0% (95% CI = 54.2% to 79.2%) in the EP and RAs, respectively. The CAM-ICU's specificity was 98.6% (95% CI = 96.8% to 99.4%) for both raters. The negative likelihood ratios (LR-) were 0.28 (95% CI = 0.18 to 0.44) and 0.32 (95% CI = 0.22 to 0.49) in the EP and RAs, respectively. The positive likelihood ratios (LR+) were 51.3 (95% CI = 21.1 to 124.5) and 48.4 (95% CI = 19.9 to 118.0), respectively. The kappa between the EP and RAs was 0.92 (95% CI = 0.85 to 0.98), indicating excellent interobserver reliability. CONCLUSIONS: In older ED patients, the CAM-ICU is highly specific, and a positive test is nearly diagnostic for delirium when used by both the EP and RAs. However, the CAM-ICU's sensitivity was modest, and a negative test decreased the likelihood of delirium by a small amount. The consequences of a false-negative CAM-ICU are unknown and deserve further study.