Reach and Adoption of a Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation Program in the United States.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to describe the reach and adoption of Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) program and care processes instituted at accredited geriatric emergency departments (EDs). METHODS: We analyzed a cross-section of a cohort of US EDs that received GEDA from May 2018 to March 2021. We obtained data from the American College of Emergency Physicians and publicly available sources. Data included GEDA level, geographic location, urban/rural designation, and care processes instituted. Frequencies and proportions and median and interquartile ranges were used to summarize categorical and continuous data, respectively. RESULTS: Over the study period, 225 US geriatric ED accreditations were issued and included in our analysis-14 Level 1, 21 Level 2, and 190 Level 3 geriatric EDs; 5 geriatric EDs reapplied and received higher-level accreditation after initial accreditation at a lower level. Only 9 geriatric EDs were in rural regions. There was significant heterogeneity in protocols enacted at geriatric EDs; minimizing urinary catheter use and fall prevention were the most common. CONCLUSION: There has been rapid growth in geriatric EDs, driven by Level 3 accreditation. Most geriatric EDs are in urban areas, indicating the potential need for expansion beyond these areas. Future research evaluating the impact of GEDA on health care utilization and patient-oriented outcomes is needed.

Emergency department communication with diverse caregivers and persons living with dementia: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Research to date has detailed numerous challenges in emergency department (ED) communication with persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their caregivers. However, little is known about communication experiences of individuals belonging to minoritized racial and ethnic groups, who are disproportionately impacted by dementia and less likely to be included in dementia research. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 caregivers of PLWD from two urban academic hospital EDs with distinct patient populations. The first site is an ED in the Northeast serving a majority White, English-speaking, and insured population. The second site is an ED in the South serving a majority Black and/or Hispanic, Spanish-speaking, and underinsured population. Interviews lasted an average of 25 min and were digitally recorded and transcribed. We used an inductive approach to analyze interview transcripts for dominant themes and compared themes between sites. RESULTS: Our sample included caregivers of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Caregivers cared for PLWD who spoke English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Vietnamese. We identified three themes. First, caregiver advocacy was central to experiences of ED communication, particularly when PLWD primarily spoke a non-English language. Second, routine care plans did not address what mattered most to participants and PLWD. Participants felt that care arose from protocols and did not address what mattered most to them. Third, White English-speaking caregivers in Site 1 more commonly expected ED staff to engage them in care decision-making than Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Middle Eastern caregivers in Site 2. CONCLUSION: Language barriers amplify the higher intensity care needed by PLWD in the ED. Strategies should be developed for communicating with PLWD and caregivers about what matters most in their ED care.

Perceptions of Acute Care Telemedicine Among Caregivers for Persons Living with Dementia: A Qualitative Study.

Persons living with dementia (PLWD) have high emergency department (ED) utilization. Little is known about using telemedicine with PLWD and caregivers as an alternative to ED visits for minor acute health problems. This qualitative interview-based study elicited caregivers' perspectives about the acceptability of telemedicine for acute complaints. We performed telephone interviews with 28 caregivers of PLWD from two academic EDs, one in the Northeast and another in the South. Using a combined deductive-inductive approach, we coded interview transcripts and elucidated common themes by consensus. All caregivers reported they would need to participate in the telemedicine visit to help overcome communication and digital literacy challenges. People from racial/ethnic minority groups reported lower comfort with the virtual format. In both sites, participants expressed uncertainty about illness severity that could preclude using telemedicine for acute complaints. Overall, respondents deemed acute care telemedicine acceptable, but caregivers describe specific roles as crucial intermediaries to facilitate virtual care.

Leveraging the Electronic Health Record to Implement Emergency Department Delirium Screening.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to understand how emergency departments (EDs) use health information technology (HIT), and specifically the electronic health record (EHR), to support implementation of delirium screening. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 ED clinician-administrators, representing 20 EDs, about how they used HIT resources to implement delirium screening. Interviews focused on challenges participants experienced when implementing ED delirium screening and EHR-based strategies they used to overcome them. We coded interview transcripts using dimensions from the Singh and Sittig sociotechnical model, which addresses use of HIT in complex adaptive health care systems. Subsequently, we analyzed data for common themes across dimensions of the sociotechnical model. RESULTS: Three themes emerged about how the EHR could be used to address challenges in implementation of delirium screening: (1) staff adherence to screening, (2) communication among ED team members about a positive screen, and (3) linking positive screening to delirium management. Participants described several HIT-based strategies including visual nudges, icons, hard stop alerts, order sets, and automated communications that facilitated implementation of delirium screening. An additional theme emerged about challenges related to the availability of HIT resources. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide practical HIT-based strategies for health care institutions planning to adopt geriatric screenings. Building delirium screening tools and reminders to perform screening into the EHR may prompt adherence to screening. Automating related workflows, team communication, and management of patients who screen positive for delirium may help save staff members' time. Staff education, engagement, and access to HIT resources may support successful screening implementation.

Communication Training and Code Status Conversation Patterns Reported by Emergency Clinicians.

CONTEXT: During acute health decompensations for seriously ill patients, emergency clinicians often determine the intensity end-of-life care. Little is known about how emergency clinicians conduct these conversations, especially among those who have received serious illness communication training. OBJECTIVES: To determine the self-reported practice patterns of code status conversations by emergency clinicians with and without serious illness communication training. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among emergency clinicians with and without a recent evidence-based, serious illness communication training tailored for emergency clinicians. Emergency clinicians were included from two academic medical centers. A five-point Likert scale ("very unlikely" to "very likely" to ask) was used to assess the self-reported likelihood of asking about patients' preferences for medical procedures and patients' values and goals. RESULTS: Among 161 respondents (71% response rate), 77 (48%) received the training. A total of 70% of emergency clinicians reported asking about procedure-based questions, and only 38% reported asking about patient's values regarding end-of-life care. For value-based questions, statistically significant differences were observed between emergency clinicians who underwent the training and those who did not in four of the seven questions asked (e.g., the higher odds of exploring the patient's life priorities [adjusted OR = 4.34, 95% CI = 1.95-9.65, P-value < 0.001]). No difference was observed in the self-reported rates of all procedure-based questions between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Most emergency clinicians reported asking about procedure-based questions, and some asked about patient's value-based questions. Clinicians with recent serious illness communication training may ask more about some values and priorities.

Examination of geriatric care processes implemented in level 1 and level 2 geriatric emergency departments.

Introduction: Older adults constitute a large and growing proportion of the population and have unique care needs in the emergency department (ED) setting. The geriatric ED accreditation program aims to improve emergency care provided to older adults by standardizing care provided across accredited geriatric EDs (GED) and through implementation of geriatric-specific care processes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate select care processes at accredited level 1 and level 2 GEDs. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of a cohort of level 1 and level 2 GEDs that received accreditation between May 7, 2018 and March 1, 2021. We a priori selected five GED care processes for analysis: initiatives related to delirium, screening for dementia, assessment of function and functional decline, geriatric falls, and minimizing medication-related adverse events. For all protocols, a trained research assistant abstracted information on the tool used or care process, which patients received the interventions, and staff members were involved in the care process; additional information was abstracted specific to individual care processes. Results: A total of 35 level 1 and 2 GEDs were included in this analysis. Among care processes studied, geriatric falls were the most common (31 GEDs, 89%) followed by geriatric pain management (25 GEDs, 71%), minimizing the use of potentially inappropriate medications (24 EDs, 69%), delirium (22 GEDs, 63%), medication reconciliation (21 GEDs, 60%), functional assessment (20 GEDs, 57%), and dementia screening (17 GEDs, 49%). For protocols related to delirium, dementia, function, and geriatric falls, sites used an array of different screening tools and there was heterogeneity in who performed the screening and which patients were assessed. Medication reconciliation protocols leveraged pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and/or nurses. Protocols on avoiding potentially inappropriate medication administration generally focused on ED administration of medications and used the BEERs criteria, and few sites indicated whether pain medications protocols had dosing modifications for age and/or renal function. Conclusion: This study provides a snapshot of care processes implemented in level 1 and level 2 accredited GEDs and demonstrates significant heterogeny in how these care processes are implemented.

Evaluating older adults with cognitive dysfunction: A qualitative study with emergency clinicians.

BACKGROUND: Evaluating older adults with cognitive dysfunction in emergency departments (EDs) requires obtaining collateral information from sources other than the patient. Understanding the challenges emergency clinicians face in obtaining collateral information can inform development of interventions to improve geriatric emergency care and, more specifically, detection of ED delirium. The objective was to understand emergency clinicians' experiences obtaining collateral information on older adults with cognitive dysfunction, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: From February to May 2021, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 22 emergency physicians and advanced practice providers from two urban academic hospitals and one community hospital in the Northeast United States. Interviews lasted 10-20 min and were digitally recorded and transcribed. Interview transcripts were analyzed for dominant themes using a combined deductive-inductive approach. Responses regarding experiences before and during the pandemic were compared. RESULTS: Five major challenges emerged regarding (1) availability of caregivers, (2) reliability of sources, (3) language barriers, (4) time constraints, and (5) incomplete transfer documentation. Participants perceived all challenges, but those relating to transfer documentation were amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: Emergency clinicians' perspectives can inform efforts to support caregiver presence at bedside and develop standardized communication tools to improve recognition of delirium and, more broadly, geriatric emergency care.

A Qualitative Study of Emergency Department Delirium Prevention Initiatives.

Background: Delirium is a serious but preventable syndrome of acute brain failure. It affects 15% of patients presenting to emergency care and up to half of hospitalized patients. The emergency department (ED) often represents the entry point for hospital care for older adults and as such is an important site for delirium prevention. Objective: We sought to characterize delirium prevention initiatives in EDs in the United States and Canada. Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews with 16 ED administrators representing 14 EDs with delirium prevention initiatives. We used a combined deductive-inductive approach to code responses about involved staff, target patient population, and delirium prevention activities. Results: ED delirium prevention initiatives were largely driven by bedside nurses and occurred on an ad hoc basis, rather than systematically. Due to resource limitations, three EDs targeted older adults with high-risk conditions for delirium, rather than all patients age 65 and over. The most common delirium prevention interventions were offering assistive sensory devices (hearing amplifiers, reading glasses), having a toileting protocol, and offering patients food and drink. Conclusions: As minimal evidence exists about effective ED delirium prevention practices, low-cost and low-risk activities outlined by study participants are reasonable to use to improve patient experience and staff satisfaction.

COVID-19 hospital and emergency department visitor policies in the United States: Impact on persons with cognitive or physical impairment or receiving end-of-life care.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the national distribution of COVID-19 hospital and emergency department visitor restriction policies across the United States, focusing on patients with cognitive or physical impairment or receiving end-of-life care. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of visitor policies and exceptions, using a nationally representative random sample of EDs and hospitals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, by trained study investigators using standardized instrument. RESULTS: Of the 352 hospitals studied, 326 (93%) had a COVID-19 hospital-wide visitor restriction policy and 164 (47%) also had an ED-specific policy. Hospital-wide policies were more prevalent at academic than non-academic (96% vs 90%; P < 0.05) and at urban than rural sites (95% vs 84%; P < 0.001); however, the prevalence of ED-specific policies did not significantly differ across these site characteristics. Geographic region was not associated with the prevalence of any visitor policies. Among all study sites, only 58% of hospitals reported exceptions for patients receiving end-of-life care, 39% for persons with cognitive impairment, and 33% for persons with physical impairment, and only 12% provided policies in non-English languages. Sites with ED-specific policies reported even fewer exceptions for patients with cognitive impairment (29%), with physical impairments (24%), or receiving end-of-life care (26%). CONCLUSION: Although the benefits of visitor policies towards curbing COVID-19 transmission had not been firmly established, such policies were widespread among US hospitals. Exceptions that permitted family or other caregivers for patients with cognitive or physical impairments or receiving end-of-life care were predominantly lacking, as were policies in non-English languages.

Emergency Clinicians' Perceptions of Communication Tools to Establish the Mental Baseline of Older Adults: A Qualitative Study.

Background Evaluating older adults with altered mental status in emergency settings can be challenging due to the inability to obtain a history from patients directly and limited collateral information about the change from a patient's mental status baseline. Documents and videos establishing a patient's mental baseline could represent useful communication tools to aid emergency clinicians. Methods Qualitative interviews conducted with 22 emergency clinicians (12 physicians and 10 advanced practice providers) identified methods they use to determine baseline mental status of older adults in the ED and the perceived utility of document- and video-based information about an older adult's baseline mental status. Interview transcripts were coded for dominant themes using deductive and inductive approaches. Results Participants determine an older adult's baseline mental status by obtaining information about the patient's baseline cognition (memory and communication) and function (activities of daily living and mobility). The techniques they use include 1) reviewing the electronic medical record, 2) speaking with family members or caregivers by phone or in person, and 3) obtaining verbal or phone reports from emergency medical services personnel or health care providers from short- or long-term care facilities. The majority of participants thought that a document or video with information about a patient's baseline mental status would be useful (n=15, 68%), qualifying that content ought to be brief, clearly dated, and periodically updated. Conclusions Documents or videos could assist emergency clinicians in establishing baseline cognitive function when evaluating geriatric patients and may have implications for improving the detection of delirium.