Primary prevention recommendations to reduce the risk of cognitive decline.

INTRODUCTION: Few resources address steps clinicians can take to help patients reduce their risk of dementia, despite growing recognition that brain health can be optimized and that risk reduction for cognitive decline can be accomplished by lifestyle modifications. METHODS: To address this gap, UsAgainstAlzheimer's convened a risk reduction workgroup (RRWG) to review existing evidence and develop recommendations for primary care clinicians discussing cognitive decline and risk reduction with their patients.  RESULTS: The RRWG produced 11 consensus-based recommendations and implementation strategies across six topics: neurovascular risk management, physical activity, sleep, nutrition, social isolation, and cognitive stimulation.  DISCUSSION: These recommendations are a first step for clinicians to address brain health with patients and potentially help them prevent cognitive decline. To ensure there is routine care for brain health, proper incentives and policies must be instituted and more education for consumers should be provided.

Advancing Diabetes Quality Measurement in the Era of Continuous Glucose Monitoring.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to develop a set of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)-related measure concepts to be tested in a health care system. Existing measures assessing the quality of diabetes care do not include modern approaches to diabetes management, such as CGM. Continuous glucose monitors rival traditional methods of measuring diabetes management by providing real-time, longitudinal data and demonstrating glucose variability over time. The Improving Diabetes Quality Initiative seeks to address this gap in diabetes quality measurement. METHODS: A Technical Expert Panel (TEP) was convened to curate a diabetes quality measures portfolio and conceptualize three new CGM-related quality measures within the portfolio. From the additional measure concepts identified in the portfolio, the TEP prioritized three for conceptualization. High-level measure concept specifications were made available during a public comment period. RESULTS: The measure concepts prioritized by the TEP included a shared decision-making measure to assess the value of initiating CGM for disease management, a utilization measure to address disparities in access and use of CGM, and a patient-provider review of CGM data to promote routine consideration of these assessments in treatment and ongoing management. Clinical literature, public comments, and TEP feedback informed full measure specifications. CONCLUSIONS: The evolution of diabetes technology reflects the need to shift diabetes quality of care. The measure concepts will be tested in a flexible pilot setting to understand the future of diabetes care and communicate the value of CGM to people with diabetes, providers, and payers.

Identification of cognitive impairment, depression, and fatigue among multiple sclerosis patients in a large comprehensive care center: A mixed-methods, qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Despite studies suggesting a high prevalence of cognitive impairment, depression, and fatigue (CDF) among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), standardized CDF tools are used infrequently in clinical practice, potentially resulting in underdiagnosis. We documented the use of standardized tools to identify CDF in MS and sought to understand provider attitudes toward the tools and their use. METHODS: This mixed-methods study analyzed electronic health records (EHRs) from a large US urban MS center to determine the frequency and types of CDF screenings and numbers of MS treatment encounters (January 2018-December 2019). Participants included neurologists and nurse practitioners with ≥30 eligible patients and a convenience sample of adult MS patients (≥18 years) with at least outpatient encounters during the study period. Semistructured provider interviews (n = 6; the principal investigator and 1 provider were excluded) were conducted, transcribed, coded, and analyzed to characterize screening patterns. Assessments included proportions of encounters and patients who had standardized CDF screenings, positive screening results, and documentation of a treatment recommendation, as well as provider attitudes toward tools and reported barriers and facilitators for use. Bivariate analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between screening rates and patient and provider covariates for groups with sufficient sample size (n = 30). RESULTS: The final population included 260 unique patients, 489 outpatient encounters, and 8 providers. Of 260 patients (75% female, 83% aged <65 years), 24% (n = 63) were screened with a depression tool. Only 2% (n = 4) were screened with a tool measuring cognitive impairment, and none were screened with a tool measuring fatigue. Screening rates varied little by provider type. Higher depression screening rates were associated with white race (difference: 13.2%; 95% CI: 2.8-23.5%; P = .01), ≤2 visits during the study period (difference: 7.6%; 95% CI: 0.6-14.5%; P = .03), and provider experience >10 years (difference: 14.6%; 95% CI: 3.5-25.8%; P = .01). Lack of support staff and perception of limited treatment options were commonly cited barriers to standardized screening in provider interviews. The higher rate of depression screening is likely driven by institutional culture and priorities. CONCLUSION: Providers recognize the importance of CDF to patients, despite infrequent use of standardized screening. Integrating screening into institutional practices may enable ongoing tracking of assessment scores and provide a more comprehensive and longitudinal picture of symptom progression.