Framework Implementation of the INSPIRE ICOPE-CARE Program in Collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Occitania Region.

INTRODUCTION: Limiting the number of dependent older people in coming years will be a major economic and human challenge. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the «Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE)¼ approach. The aim of the ICOPE program is to enable as many people as possible to age in good health. To reach this objective, the WHO proposes to follow the trajectory of an individual's intrinsic capacity, which is the composite of all their physical and mental capacities and comprised of multiple domains including mobility, cognition, vitality / nutrition, psychological state, vision, hearing. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the INSPIRE ICOPE-CARE program is to implement, in clinical practice at a large scale, the WHO ICOPE program in the Occitania region, in France, to promote healthy aging and maintain the autonomy of seniors using digital medicine. METHOD: The target population is independent seniors aged 60 years and over. To follow this population, the 6 domains of intrinsic capacity are systematically monitored with pre-established tools proposed by WHO especially STEP 1 which has been adapted in digital form to make remote and large-scale monitoring possible. Two tools were developed: the ICOPE MONITOR, an application, and the BOTFRAIL, a conversational robot. Both are connected to the Gerontopole frailty database. STEP 1 is performed every 4-6 months by professionals or seniors themselves. If a deterioration in one or more domains of intrinsic capacity is identified, an alert is generated by an algorithm which allows health professionals to quickly intervene. The operational implementation of the INSPIRE ICOPE-CARE program in Occitania is done by the network of Territorial Teams of Aging and Prevention of Dependency (ETVPD) which have more than 2,200 members composed of professionals in the medical, medico-social and social sectors. Targeted actions have started to deploy the use of STEP 1 by healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, pharmacists,…) or different institutions like French National old age insurance fund (CNAV), complementary pension funds (CEDIP), Departmental Council of Haute Garonne, etc. Perspective: The INSPIRE ICOPE-CARE program draws significantly on numeric tools, e-health and digital medicine to facilitate communication and coordination between professionals and seniors. It seeks to screen and monitor 200,000 older people in Occitania region within 3 to 5 years and promote preventive actions. The French Presidential Plan Grand Age aims to largely implement the WHO ICOPE program in France following the experience of the INSPIRE ICOPE-CARE program in Occitania.

Healthcare Concerns of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Lessons for Health Policy and Social Work.

Older people have been identified to be one of the most vulnerable population groups to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). At the same time, more health workers in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Ghana are contracting COVID-19. This poses healthcare utilization concerns for older adults. As a result, many older adults are changing their health-seeking behavior by staying at home and resorting to informal healthcare such as the use of traditional therapies and over-the-counter medicines for self-treatment or to boost their immune system. This commentary calls for social workers to collaborate with health authorities and community pharmacists to develop social and health programs to increase older adults' access to healthcare during the COVID-19 crisis. Policies are also required to deal with the pandemic and its impact on health systems in LMICs for both short and long term. We have suggested in this commentary how governments, health institutions, and local authorities in LMICs can address the healthcare concerns of older adults during this and any future pandemic.

The Diverse Implementation of Geriatrics-Orthopedics Comanagement Programs in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Many health systems are establishing geriatrics-orthopedics (Geri-Ortho) comanagement programs; however, there is paucity of published information on existing programs' variations in clinical operations, structure, and reported implementation challenges and perceived successes. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to obtain detailed information about the variety of existing Geri-Ortho comanagement programs in the United States. DESIGN/PARTICPANTS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 44 existing Geri-Ortho comanagement programs, with 23 (52%) of programs responding. MEASUREMENT: Quantitative questions were used to assess operational, staffing, and financial structures; and qualitative questions were used to identify reported challenges and perceived successes of implementation. RESULTS: Programs self-identified as urban (n = 23), academic (n = 20), or nonprofit (n = 22) and as having a level I trauma center (n = 17). Most programs (n = 18) were funded fully by the institution. Fourteen programs used geriatricians, and nine used medicine/hospitalists as the supporting clinical service, whereas approximately half (n = 11) used these services in a true comanagement model. Six universal themes were identified as necessary for program implementation. The most commonly described successes perceived by all respondents were improvements in clinical outcomes and better interdisciplinary relationships. Reported challenges included difficulty in interdisciplinary geriatrics education, difficulty in adherence to protocols, and lack of funding for staffing. CONCLUSIONS: There are diverse types of Geri-Ortho comanagement programs in the United States, although universal elements exist. Many had similar challenges in implementation, and further studies are needed to determine which implementation elements are critical to clinical and financial outcomes. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1714-1719, 2020.

[Cross-speciality geriatrics: A health-care challenge for the 21st century]. / Geriatría transversal. Un reto asistencial para el siglo xxi.

Increasing numbers of older persons are being treated by specialties other than Geriatric Medicine. Specialists turn to Geriatric Teams when they need to accurately stratify their patients' risk and prognosis, predict the potential impact of their, often, invasive interventions, optimise their clinical status, and contribute to discharge planning. Oncology and Haematology, Cardiology, General Surgery, and other surgical departments are examples where such collaborative working is already established, to a varying extent. The use of the term "Cross-speciality Geriatrics" is suggested when geriatric care is provided in clinical areas traditionally outside the reach of Geriatric Teams. The core principles of Geriatric Medicine (comprehensive geriatric assessment, patient-centred multidisciplinary targeted interventions, and input at point-of-care) are adapted to the specifics of each specialty and applied to frail older patients in order to deliver a holistic assessment/treatment, better patient/carer experience, and improved clinical outcomes. Using Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment methodology and Frailty scoring in such patients provides invaluable prognostic information, helps in decision making, and enables personalised treatment strategies. There is evidence that such an approach improves the efficiency of health care systems and patient outcomes. This article includes a review of these concepts, describes existing models of care, presents the most commonly used clinical tools, and offers examples of excellence in this new era of geriatric care. In an ever ageing population it is likely that teams will be asked to provide Cross-specialty Geriatrics across different Health Care systems. The fundamentals for its implementation are in place, but further evidence is required to guide future development and consolidation, making it one of the most important challenges for Geriatrics in the coming years.

Streamlining an existing hip fracture patient pathway in an acute tertiary adult Irish hospital to improve patient experience and outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To improve access for hip fracture patients to surgery within 48 h of presentation to the Emergency Department, and to increase the number of patients receiving pre-operative orthogeriatric review, through streamlining an existing hip fracture patient pathway. DESIGN: A pre-post design involving a multi-disciplinary team use of the Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control framework integral to Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology, to assess and adapt the existing hip fracture pathway from presentation to Emergency Department to the initiation of surgery. SETTING: A 600-bed teaching hospital in Ireland. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing, medical, administrative and physiotherapy staff working across Emergency Medicine, Orthogeriatrics and Orthopaedic Specialities and Project management. INTERVENTIONS: LSS methodology was used to redesign an existing pathway, improving patient access to ortho-geriatrician assessment, pain relief and surgery in line with the Irish Hip Fracture Data Base Key performance indicators. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Access to pain relief, access to surgery and volume of patients receiving ortho-geriatric assessment. RESULTS: The percentage of patients undergoing surgery within 48 h of presentation to Emergency Department increased from 55% to 79% at 3 months, and to 85% at 6 months. Improvements were also achieved in the secondary performance metrics relevant to quality of patient care. All care pathway changes were cost neutral. CONCLUSIONS: Hip fracture surgery within 48 h of presentation to hospital is a recognized standard of hip fracture care associated with decreased length of stay and decreased mortality. With respect to this performance metric, this intervention has contributed to improved patient outcomes.

Redesigning care for older people to preserve physical and mental capacity: WHO guidelines on community-level interventions in integrated care.

Islene Araujo de Carvalho and coauthors discuss the WHO guidelines on integrated care for older people.

Quality and Safety in Aged Care Virtual Issue: What Australian research published in the Australasian Journal on Ageing tells us.

OBJECTIVE: To review studies published in the Australasian Journal on Ageing (AJA) about the aged care workforce, and to identify influences on quality of care and potential policy directions. METHODS: Articles in the AJA on the aged care workforce published from 2009 to 2018 were identified, grouped into themes and rated for quality. RESULTS: Twenty-eight articles were identified. Articles fell into four themes: (i) staff knowledge, skills and attitudes; (ii) staff well-being and workforce stability; (iii) environmental factors that influence staff capacity; and (iv) interventions to improve staff capacity. Studies reinforced the importance of staff-consumer, staff-relatives and staff-staff relationships and a supportive workplace culture for staff work ability and capacity to provide high quality care. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to improve practice in community and residential aged care, given: (i) enough staff; (ii) better training in person-centred practice; and (iii) a supportive staff culture that encourages staff to put their training into practice.

Are we on the same page? Exploring the role of the geriatrician in the care of the older surgical patient from the perspective of surgeons and geriatricians.

There is increasing recognition that the ageing population represents a challenge to existing surgical services. National reports recommend that geriatricians proactively review older surgical patients to improve care and outcomes. However, this approach has not been widely translated into practice. A qualitative study was conducted using 12 semi-structured interviews of surgeons and geriatricians to explore the role of the geriatrician in the care of older surgical patients. Participants agreed that the current system did not meet the needs of older surgical patients. Geriatricians valued their holistic way of working but these generalist skills can overlap with other specialties, seen by some as wasting resources. Three models of care were proposed, with the ownership and location of the patient as well as the role of education being the key variables. The main obstacle preventing integrated working was the concern of de-skilling the surgeons, narrowing their role to that of a 'technician'. Other barriers included loss of autonomy; lack of evidence; and a lack of recognition of the need for a geriatrician. There is acceptance that closer working practices are necessary to meet the needs of this complex patient group but a lack of evidence, together with significant human factors, are challenges that must be addressed to realise this aim.

Australian recommendations for the integration of emergency care for older people: Consensus Statement.

OBJECTIVES: Management of older patients during acute illness or injury does not occur in isolation in emergency departments. We aimed to develop a collaborative Consensus Statement to enunciate principles of integrated emergency care. METHODS: Briefing notes, informed by research and evidence reviews, were developed and evaluated by a Consensus Working Party comprising cross-specialty representation from clinical experts, service providers, consumers and policymakers. The Consensus Working Party then convened to discuss and develop the statement's content. A subcommittee produced a draft, which was reviewed and edited by the Consensus Working Party. RESULTS: Consensus was reached after three rounds of discussion, with 12 principles and six recommendations for how to follow these principles, including an integrated care framework for action. CONCLUSION: Dissemination will encourage stakeholders and associated policy bodies to embrace the principles and priorities for action, potentially leading to collaborative work practices and improvement of care during and after acute illness or injury.

Rehabilitation in dementia care.

Multidisciplinary rehabilitation is increasingly accepted as valuable in the management of chronic disease. Whereas traditional rehabilitation models focussed on recovery, maintaining independence and delaying functional decline are now considered worthwhile aims even where full recovery is not feasible. Despite this, rehabilitation is notably absent from dementia care literature and practice. People with dementia report frustration with the lack of availability of structured post-diagnosis pathways like those offered for other conditions. Alternative terms such as 're-ablement' are used to refer to rehabilitation-like services, but lack an evidence-base to guide care. This commentary will discuss possible reasons for the resistance to accept multidisciplinary rehabilitation as part of dementia care, and identifies the value of doing so for people with dementia, their families, and for health professionals.

Tumour boards in geriatric oncology.

Multidisciplinary tumour board is an integral part of cancer treatment planning. Although no definite survival benefits have yet been shown by mostly observational studies, other benefits of multidisciplinary tumour board have been identified. Traditionally the multidisciplinary tumour board involves participation of treating clinicians-medical, radiation and surgical oncologists. They tend to focus on the cancer alone. There is an increasing awareness that the treatment goal for cancer in older adults is not primarily on prolonging survival, with functional preservation and quality of life being particularly important for this population. The use of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and the input of the geriatrician in informing the oncologists regarding treatment decision have increasingly been shown to be beneficial. The integration of the geriatrician into the multidisciplinary tumour board should be urgently explored.

PERFECTED enhanced recovery (PERFECT-ER) care versus standard acute care for patients admitted to acute settings with hip fracture identified as experiencing confusion: study protocol for a feasibility cluster randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Health and social care provision for an ageing population is a global priority. Provision for those with dementia and hip fracture has specific and growing importance. Older people who break their hip are recognised as exceptionally vulnerable to experiencing confusion (including but not exclusively, dementia and/or delirium and/or cognitive impairment(s)) before, during or after acute admissions. Older people experiencing hip fracture and confusion risk serious complications, linked to delayed recovery and higher mortality post-operatively. Specific care pathways acknowledging the differences in patient presentation and care needs are proposed to improve clinical and process outcomes. METHODS: This protocol describes a multi-centre, feasibility, cluster-randomised, controlled trial (CRCT) to be undertaken across ten National Health Service hospital trusts in the UK. The trial will explore the feasibility of undertaking a CRCT comparing the multicomponent PERFECTED enhanced recovery intervention (PERFECT-ER), which acknowledges the differences in care needs of confused older patients experiencing hip fracture, with standard care. The trial will also have an integrated process evaluation to explore how PERFECT-ER is implemented and interacts with the local context. The study will recruit 400 hip fracture patients identified as experiencing confusion and will also recruit "suitable informants" (individuals in regular contact with participants who will complete proxy measures). We will also recruit NHS professionals for the process evaluation. This mixed methods design will produce data to inform a definitive evaluation of the intervention via a large-scale pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT). DISCUSSION: The trial will provide a preliminary estimate of potential efficacy of PERFECT-ER versus standard care; assess service delivery variation, inform primary and secondary outcome selection, generate estimates of recruitment and retention rates, data collection difficulties, and completeness of outcome data and provide an indication of potential economic benefits. The process evaluation will enhance knowledge of implementation delivery and receipt. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN, 99336264 . Registered on 5 September 2016.

New horizons in comprehensive geriatric assessment.

In this article, we discuss the emergence of new models for delivery of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in the acute hospital setting. CGA is the core technology of Geriatric Medicine and for hospital inpatients it improves key outcomes such as survival, time spent at home and institutionalisation. Traditionally It is delivered by specialised multidisciplinary teams, often in dedicated wards, but in recent years has begun to be taken up and developed quite early in the admission process (at the 'front door'), across traditional ward boundaries and in specialty settings such as surgical and pre-operative care, and oncology. We have scanned recent literature, including observational studies of service evaluations, and service descriptions presented as abstracts of conference presentations to provide an overview of an emerging landscape of innovation and development in CGA services for hospital inpatients.

The growing challenge of major trauma in older people: a role for comprehensive geriatric assessment?

In this commentary article, we describe the impact that an ageing population is having on the nature of major trauma seen in emergency departments. The proportion of major trauma victims who are older people is rapidly increasing and a fall from standing is now the most common mechanism of injury in major trauma. Potential barriers to effective care of this patient group are highlighted, including: a lack of consensus regarding triage criteria; potentially misleading physiological parameters within triage criteria; non-linear patient presentations and diagnostic nihilism. We argue that the complex ongoing care and rehabilitation needs of older patients with major trauma may be best met through Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA). Furthermore, the use of frailty screening tools may facilitate more informed early decision-making in relation to treatment interventions in older trauma victims. We call for geriatric medicine and emergency medicine departments to collaborate-equipping urgent care staff with the basic competencies necessary to initiate CGA should be a priority, and geriatricians have a key role to play in delivery of such educational interventions.

Improving hip fracture outcomes with integrated orthogeriatric care: a comparison between two accepted orthogeriatric models.

Background: our orthopaedic trauma unit serves a large elderly population, admitting 400-500 hip fractures annually. A higher than expected mortality was detected amongst these patients, prompting a change in the hip fracture pathway. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a change in orthogeriatric provision on hip fracture outcomes and care quality indicators. Patients and Methods: the hip fracture pathway was changed from a geriatric consultation service to a completely integrated service on a dedicated orthogeriatric ward. A total of 1,894 consecutive patients with hip fractures treated in the 2 years before and after this intervention were analysed. Results: despite an increase in case complexity, the intervention resulted in a significant reduction in mean length of stay from 27.5 to 21 days (P < 0.001), a significant reduction in mean time to surgery from 41.8 to 27.2 h (P < 0.001) and a significant 22% reduction in 30-day mortality (13.2-10.3%, P = 0.04). After controlling for the effects of age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) Grade and abbreviated mental test score (AMTS), the effect of integrating orthogeriatric services into the hip fracture pathway significantly reduced the risk of mortality (odds ratio 0.68, P = 0.03). Conclusions: changing our hip fracture service from a geriatric consultation model of care to an integrated orthogeriatric model significantly improved mortality and performance indicators. This is the first study to directly compare two accepted models of orthogeriatric care in the same hospital.

Merchants of Health: Shaping the Experience of Illness Among Older People.

Despite nearly universal health-care coverage for older Americans, the quality of care for the sickest and frailest remains sub-optimal. Understanding why requires analysis of the medical ecosystem. This paper considers the role of four of the principal actors in this system: physicians, hospitals, drug companies, and Medicare. Physicians spend more time in the office addressing diabetes and hypertension than they do evaluating falls and impaired cognition because of their training and their interests. Hospital administrators affect the hospital experience by investing in procedural specialties at the expense of low-tech, high-touch care. Pharmaceutical companies affect the medications older patients take by direct-to-consumer advertising and marketing to physicians. Medicare affects the patient's experience by prospective payment for hospitals, resulting in the burgeoning of post-acute care to accommodate early hospital discharges. Determining how to improve the quality of care for older people requires identifying a lever that affects the entire system. Medicare is uniquely positioned to serve this role. Reforming Medicare by introducing cost-effectiveness criteria for reimbursement of expensive devices, by instituting requirements that medical resident training programs include exposure to multidisciplinary team care, and by introducing a new benefit package for the frail elderly could improve American geriatric care.

Organizing Eldercare for Geographic Communities.

The dramatically increasing prevalence of elderly persons disabled by conditions associated with aging could motivate reexamination of service delivery and financing for this population, seeking quality, reliability, and efficiency. Research and innovation have established many components of effective reforms, such as patient-directed care planning, encouragement of volunteer networks and family caregiving, mobilizing services to the home, adhering to patient goals and priorities, limiting poly-pharmacy, reducing the risk of falls, and providing adequate support services for people with disabilities. However, none have become widespread and rarely, if ever, are all of the evidence-based improvements available to a particular disabled elder. This essay argues that reform for disabled elders should be anchored in geographic communities, with a new organizational entity having responsibility for measuring performance and implementing improvements. This entity would use data and public input to set priorities, test improvement strategies, and take steps to assure adequate workforce and service supply. In this MediCaring Community, sustaining finances could come from local taxes or capturing the savings in Medicare that arise with optimal comprehensive services. Generating a new structure to monitor and manage eldercare services for a geographic community would be readily accomplished in some communities and would be worth testing.

Diversity Conceptual Model for aged care: Person-centred and difference-oriented and connective with a focus on benefit, disadvantage and equity.

AIM: This project aimed to develop a Diversity Conceptual Model to support the aged care sector to identify diversity characteristics and associated benefits and disadvantages in order to consider greater equity in policy and practice. METHODS: A multi-method approach was used to develop the Diversity Conceptual Model using a literature review, organisation-wide consultation using a questionnaire, focus groups and interviews with key stakeholders. RESULTS: A Diversity Conceptual Model was developed as a visual 'tool', made up of numerous components, with a focus on diversity characteristics that may be creating benefits and disadvantages for a consumer to participate in their health care. Continuous quality improvements and equity are presented as essential overarching components of the Model. CONCLUSION: The Diversity Conceptual Model has many potential applications for aged care. The author proposes that its wider adoption would increase confidence, skills and knowledge, enabling the aged care sector to influence greater equity in policy and care practice.

New horizons in the implementation and research of comprehensive geriatric assessment: knowing, doing and the 'know-do' gap.

In this paper, we outline the relationship between the need to put existing applied health research knowledge into practice (the 'know-do gap') and the need to improve the evidence base (the 'know gap') with respect to the healthcare process used for older people with frailty known as comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). We explore the reasons for the know-do gap and the principles of how these barriers to implementation might be overcome. We explore how these principles should affect the conduct of applied health research to close the know gap. We propose that impaired flow of knowledge is an important contributory factor in the failure to implement evidence-based practice in CGA; this could be addressed through specific knowledge mobilisation techniques. We describe that implementation failures are also produced by an inadequate evidence base that requires the co-production of research, addressing not only effectiveness but also the feasibility and acceptability of new services, the educational needs of practitioners, the organisational requirements of services, and the contribution made by policy. Only by tackling these issues in concert and appropriate proportion, will the know and know-do gaps for CGA be closed.

Clinical effectiveness of orthogeriatric and fracture liaison service models of care for hip fracture patients: population-based longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate orthogeriatric and nurse-led fracture liaison service (FLS) models of post-hip fracture care in terms of impact on mortality (30 days and 1 year) and second hip fracture (2 years). SETTING: Hospital Episode Statistics database linked to Office for National Statistics mortality records for 11 acute hospitals in a region of England. POPULATION: patients aged over 60 years admitted for a primary hip fracture from 2003 to 2013. METHODS: each hospital was analysed separately and acted as its own control in a before-after time-series design in which the appointment of an orthogeriatrician or set-up/expansion of an FLS was evaluated. Multivariable Cox regression (mortality) and competing risk survival models (second hip fracture) were used. Fixed effects meta-analysis was used to pool estimates of impact for interventions of the same type. RESULTS: of 33,152 primary hip fracture patients, 1,288 sustained a second hip fracture within 2 years (age and sex standardised proportion of 4.2%). 3,033 primary hip fracture patients died within 30 days and 9,662 died within 1 year (age and sex standardised proportion of 9.5% and 29.8%, respectively). The estimated impact of introducing an orthogeriatrician on 30-day and 1-year mortality was hazard ratio (HR) = 0.73 (95% CI: 0.65-0.82) and HR = 0.81 (CI: 0.75-0.87), respectively. Following an FLS, these associations were as follows: HR = 0.80 (95% CI: 0.71-0.91) and HR = 0.84 (0.77-0.93). There was no significant impact on time to second hip fracture. CONCLUSIONS: the introduction and/or expansion of orthogeriatric and FLS models of post-hip fracture care has a beneficial effect on subsequent mortality. No evidence for a reduction in second hip fracture rate was found.