Family Physician Prescribing Practices and Perspectives on Shared Decision-Making Regarding the Use of Oral Anticoagulants for Stroke Prevention in Patients 75 Years or Older With Atrial Fibrillation.

INTRODUCTION: Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is common in older adults, yet guideline-recommended oral anti-coagulants (OACs) for stroke prevention are underused in this population. With a growing population of older adults at risk of AF seeking primary care, the objective of the study was to determine the management practices and perspectives of family physicians on the initiation of OACs for stroke prevention in AF patients 75 years or older, including their engagement of patients in shared decision-making. METHODS: This was an online survey of family physicians affiliated with a Primary Care Network in Alberta, Canada. RESULTS: Patient's risk (of falls, bleeding, or stroke) was the most common factor (17/20, 85%) physicians considered when deciding to initiate OAC in older adult patients with AF. Physicians used the CHADS2VASC (13/14, 93%) and HASBLED (11/15, 73%) tools to determine stroke and bleeding risks, respectively. Majority (11/15, 73%) of the physicians agreed that they feel confident initiating OAC for AF patients ≥75, while 20% (3/15) were neutral. All physicians agreed that their patients participated in shared decision-making to initiate OAC for stroke prevention. CONCLUSION: Family physicians strongly consider patient risks and utilize risk-assessment tools when initiating OAC in older adults with AF. Despite all physicians reporting the use of shared decision-making and that their patients were educated on the indications for OAC, confidence in initiating treatment was variable. Further exploration into factors impacting physician confidence is needed.

The Seniors' Community Hub: An Integrated Model of Care for the Identification and Management of Frailty in Primary Care.

(1) Background: Integrated models of primary care deliver the comprehensive and preventative approach needed to identify and manage frailty in older people. Seniors' Community Hub (SCH) was developed to deliver person-centered, evidence-informed, coordinated, and integrated care services to older community dwelling adults living with frailty. This paper aims to describe the SCH model, and to present patient-oriented results of the pilot. (2) Methods: SCH was piloted in an academic clinic with six family physicians. Eligible patients were community dwelling, 65 years of age and older, and considered to be at risk of frailty (eFI > 0.12). Health professionals within the clinic received training in geriatrics and interprofessional teamwork to form the SCH team working with family physicians, patients and caregivers. The SCH intervention consisted of a team-based multi-domain assessment with person-centered care planning and follow-up. Patient-oriented outcomes (EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS) and 4-metre gait speed were measured at initial visit and 12 months later. (3) Results: 88 patients were enrolled in the pilot from April 2016-December 2018. No statistically significant differences in EQ-5D-5L/VAS or the 4-metre gait speed were detected in 38 patients completing the 12-month assessment. (4) Conclusions: Future larger scale studies of longer duration are needed to demonstrate impacts of integrated models of primary care on patient-oriented outcomes for older adults living with frailty.

Developing a Decision-Making Capacity Assessment Clinical Pathway for Use in Primary Care: a Qualitative Exploratory Case Study.

BACKGROUND: With an ageing population, the incidence of dementia will increase, as will the number of persons requiring decision-making capacity assessments. For over 10 years, we have trained family physicians in conducting decision-making capacity assessments. Physician feedback post-training, however, has highlighted the need to integrate the decision-making capacity assessment process into the primary care context. The purpose of this study was to develop a decision-making capacity assessment clinical pathway for implementation in primary care. METHODS: A qualitative exploratory case-study design was used to obtain participants' perspectives regarding the utility of a visual algorithm detailing a decision-making capacity assessment clinical pathway for use in primary care. Three focus groups were conducted with family physicians (n=4) and allied health professionals (n=6) in two primary care clinics in Alberta. A revised algorithm was developed based on their feedback. RESULTS: In the focus groups, participants identified inconsistencies and a lack of standardization regarding decision-making capacity assessments within primary care, and provided feedback regarding a decision-making capacity assessment clinical pathway to make it more applicable to primary care. Participants described this pathway as appealing and straightforward; they also made suggestions to make it more primary care-centric. Participants indicated that the presented pathway would improve teamwork and standardization of decision-making capacity assessments within primary care. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a decision-making capacity assessment clinical pathway has the potential to standardize decision-making capacity assessment processes in primary care, and support least intrusive and least restrictive patient outcomes for community-dwelling older adults.

Appropriateness of Medications in Older Adults Living With Frailty: Impact of a Pharmacist-Led Structured Medication Review Process in Primary Care.

Background: Older persons with frailty take multiple medications and are vulnerable to inappropriate prescribing. Objective: This study assesses the impact of a team-based, pharmacist-led structured medication review process in primary care on the appropriateness of medications taken by older adults living with frailty. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design in 6 primary care practices within an academic clinic in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We enrolled community dwelling older adults 65 years and older with frailty who have polypharmacy and/or 2 or more chronic conditions (ie, high-risk group for drug-related issues). The intervention was a structured pharmacist-led medication review using evidence-based explicit criteria (ie, Beers and STOPP/START criteria) and implicit criteria (ie, pharmacist expertise) for potentially inappropriate prescribing, done in the context of a primary care team-based seniors' program. We measured the changes in the number of medications pre- and postmedication review, number of medications satisfying explicit criteria of START and STOPP/Beers and determined the association with frailty level. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (a priori significance level of P < .05). Results: A total of 54 participants (61.1% females, mean age 81.7 years [SD = 6.74]) enrolled April 2017 to May 2018 and 52 participants completed the medication review process (2 lost to hospitalization). Drug-related problems noted on medication review were untreated conditions (61.1%), inappropriate medications (57.4%), and unnecessary therapy (40.7%). No significant changes in total number of medications taken by patients before and after, but the intervention significantly decreased number of inappropriate medications (1.15 meds pre to 0.9 meds post; P = .006). Conclusion: A pharmacist-led medication review is a strategy that can be implemented in primary care to address inappropriate medications.

Identification of Frailty in Primary Care: Feasibility and Acceptability of Recommended Case Finding Tools Within a Primary Care Integrated Seniors' Program.

Background: Case finding for frailty is recommended as part of routine clinical practice. We aimed to test feasibility and acceptability of three recommended case finding tools in primary care as part of an integrated seniors' program. Method: Program of Research to Integrate Services for the Maintenance of Autonomy-7 (PRISMA-7), 4-m walk test, and electronic frailty index (eFI) were used as frailty case finding tools for a target population of community-dwelling seniors ≥65 years of age enrolled in a seniors' program within an academic primary care clinic in Alberta, Canada. Feasibility was measured by percent completion rate and requirements for training/equipment/space/time, and acceptability by health care providers was measured using focus groups. Results: Eighty-five patients underwent case finding and 16 health care providers participated in the focus groups. Completion rate for PRISMA-7, 4-m walk test, and eFI was 97.6%, 93%, and 100%, respectively. No special training or equipment was required for PRISMA-7; brief training, equipment, and space were required for 4-m walk test. Both tools took less than 5 min to complete. Despite eFI requiring 10 to 20 min/patient chart, providers found it less intrusive. Conclusion: Despite feasibility of the tests, acceptance was higher for tools with minimal clinic interruption, low requirements for resources, and those with added benefit.

Correction to: A cross-sectional study examining convergent validity of a frailty index based on electronic medical records in a Canadian primary care program.

Following the publication of this article [1], the authors reported a typesetting error in the "Results" section.

A cross-sectional study examining convergent validity of a frailty index based on electronic medical records in a Canadian primary care program.

BACKGROUND: An electronic frailty index (eFI) has been developed and validated in the UK; it uses data from primary care electronic medical records (EMR) for effective frailty case-finding in primary care. This project examined the convergent validity of the eFI from Canadian primary care EMR data with a validated frailty index based on comprehensive geriatric assessment (FI-CGA), in order to understand its potential use in the Canadian context. METHODS: A cross-sectional validation study, using data from an integrated primary care research program for seniors living with frailty in Edmonton, AB. Eighty-five patients 65 years of age and older from six primary care physicians' practices were recruited. Patients were excluded if they were under 65 years of age, did not provide consent to participate in the program, or were living in a long term care facility at the time of enrolment. We used scatter plots to assess linearity and Pearson correlation coefficients to examine correlations. RESULTS: Results indicate a strong statistically significant correlation between the eFI and FI-CGA (r = 0.72, 95% CI 0.60-0.81, p < 0.001). A simple linear regression showed good ability of the eFI scores to predict FI-CGA scores (F (1,83) = 89.06, p < .0001, R2 = 0.51). Both indices were also correlated with age, number of chronic conditions and number of medications. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings support the convergent validity of the eFI, which further justifies implementation of a case-finding tool that uses routinely collected primary care data in the Canadian context.

Improving Care Experiences, Efficiencies and Quality of Care for Seniors in Alberta.

Improving Care Experiences, Efficiencies and Quality of Care for Seniors in Alberta Forum was held to explore the current challenges and opportunities in seniors' care. A diverse group of 53 attendees, representing a cross section of healthcare organizations, front-line healthcare providers, researchers and patients, participated in facilitative, small group discussions to share and propose solutions to barriers to coordinating and integrating care for the senior population across the continuum within the Edmonton zone, to comment on a standardized assessment that may inform integrated care and support planning and to outline steps towards health information continuity.

Perceptions, practice, and "ownership:" experiences in continuity of the patient-doctor relationship in a family medicine residency.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this mixed-methods study was to determine interpersonal continuity (the ongoing therapeutic relationship between patient and health care provider) experiences of family medicine residents and preceptors, and explore their perceptions of interpersonal continuity. METHODS: Quantitative data on resident and preceptor encounters were extracted from the electronic medical record (EMR). Opportunities for developing interpersonal continuity were determined using the Usual Provider Continuity (UPC) Index. A qualitative descriptive research method was used for the qualitative portion. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and constant comparative analysis was used to determine emerging themes. RESULTS: Residents were found to have low UPC rates; preceptor rates were higher. Qualitative findings showed variable experiences with interpersonal continuity not apparent from UPC rates. Both preceptors and residents expressed perception of "ownership" of patients as a significant barrier to interpersonal continuity. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that a perceived lack of individual "ownership" of a patient panel was a significant barrier to developing interpersonal continuity. This might conflict with current changes towards team-based health care delivery. Understanding perceptions and changing them through a multi-faceted approach including resident teaching and faculty development might help improve interpersonal continuity which are core to both family medicine curricula and current models of health care delivery.