Beyond In-hospital Mortality: Use of Postdischarge Quality-Metrics Provides a More Complete Picture of Older Adult Trauma Care.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the distributions of and extent of variability among 3 new sets of postdischarge quality-metrics measured within 30/90/365 days designed to better account for the unique health needs of older trauma patients: mortality (expansion of the current in-hospital standard), readmission (marker of health-system performance and care coordination), and patients' average number of healthy days at home (marker of patient functional status). BACKGROUND: Traumatic injuries are a leading cause of death and loss of independence for the increasing number of older adults living in the United States. Ongoing efforts seek to expand quality evaluation for this population. METHODS: Using 100% Medicare claims, we calculated hospital-specific reliability-adjusted postdischarge quality-metrics for older adults aged 65 years or older admitted with a primary diagnosis of trauma, older adults with hip fracture, and older adults with severe traumatic brain injury. Distributions for each quality-metric within each population were assessed and compared with results for in-hospital mortality, the current benchmarking standard. RESULTS: A total of 785,867 index admissions (305,186 hip fracture and 92,331 severe traumatic brain injury) from 3692 hospitals were included. Within each population, use of postdischarge quality-metrics yielded a broader range of outcomes compared with reliance on in-hospital mortality alone. None of the postdischarge quality-metrics consistently correlated with in-hospital mortality, including death within 1 year [ r =0.581 (95% CI, 0.554-0.608)]. Differences in quintile-rank revealed that when accounting for readmissions (8.4%, κ=0.029) and patients' average number of healthy days at home (7.1%, κ=0.020), as many as 1 in 14 hospitals changed from the best/worst performance under in-hospital mortality to the completely opposite quintile rank. CONCLUSIONS: The use of new postdischarge quality-metrics provides a more complete picture of older adult trauma care: 1 with greater room for improvement and better reflection of multiple aspects of quality important to the health and recovery of older trauma patients when compared with reliance on quality benchmarking based on in-hospital mortality alone.

Predicting 6-Month Mortality for Older Adults Hospitalized With Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Cohort Study.

Background: Older adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have higher prevalence of functional impairments, including deficits in cognition, strength, and sensory domains, than their younger counterparts. Objective: To develop and evaluate the prognostic utility of a risk model for 6-month post-AMI mortality in older adults that incorporates information about functional impairments. Design: Prospective cohort study. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01755052). Setting: 94 hospitals throughout the United States. Participants: 3006 persons aged 75 years or older who were hospitalized with AMI and discharged alive. Measurements: Functional impairments were assessed during hospitalization via direct measurement (cognition, mobility, muscle strength) or self-report (vision, hearing). Clinical variables associated with mortality in prior risk models were ascertained by chart review. Seventy-two candidate variables were selected for inclusion, and backward selection and Bayesian model averaging were used to derive (n = 2004 participants) and validate (n = 1002 participants) a model for 6-month mortality. Results: Participants' mean age was 81.5 years, 44.4% were women, and 10.5% were nonwhite. There were 266 deaths (8.8%) within 6 months. The final risk model included 15 variables, 4 of which were not included in prior risk models: hearing impairment, mobility impairment, weight loss, and lower patient-reported health status. The model was well calibrated (Hosmer-Lemeshow P > 0.05) and showed good discrimination (area under the curve for the validation cohort = 0.84). Adding functional impairments significantly improved model performance, as evidenced by category-free net reclassification improvement indices of 0.21 (P = 0.008) for hearing impairment and 0.26 (P < 0.001) for mobility impairment. Limitation: The model was not externally validated. Conclusion: A newly developed model for 6-month post-AMI mortality in older adults was well calibrated and had good discriminatory ability. This model may be useful in decision making at hospital discharge. Primary Funding Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Effect of ß-blockers on cardiac and pulmonary events and death in older adults with cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

CONTEXT: In older adults with multiple conditions, medications may not impart the same benefits seen in patients who are younger or without multimorbidity. Furthermore, medications given for one condition may adversely affect other outcomes. ß-Blocker use with coexisting cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is such a situation. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of ß-blocker use on cardiac and pulmonary outcomes and mortality in older adults with coexisting COPD and CVD. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: The study included 1062 participants who were members of the 2004-2007 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey cohorts, a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries. Study criteria included age over 65 years plus coexisting CVD and COPD/asthma. Follow-up occurred through 2009. We determined the association between ß-blocker use and the outcomes with propensity score-adjusted and covariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The 3 outcomes were major cardiac events, pulmonary events, and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Half of the participants used ß-blockers. During follow-up, 179 participants experienced a major cardiac event; 389 participants experienced a major pulmonary event; and 255 participants died. Each participant could have experienced any ≥1 of these events. The hazard ratio for ß-blocker use was 1.18 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.85-1.62] for cardiac events, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.73-1.12) for pulmonary events, and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.67-1.13) for death. CONCLUSION: In this population of older adults, ß-blockers did not seem to affect occurrence of cardiac or pulmonary events or death in those with CVD and COPD.

IOM and DHHS meeting on making clinical practice guidelines appropriate for patients with multiple chronic conditions.

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of Americans with multiple (2 or more) chronic conditions raises concerns about the appropriateness and applicability of clinical practice guidelines for patient management. Most guidelines clinicians currently rely on have been designed with a single chronic condition in mind, and many such guidelines are inattentive to issues related to comorbidities. PURPOSE: In response to the need for guideline developers to address comorbidities in guidelines, the Department of Health and Human Services convened a meeting in May 2012 in partnership with the Institute of Medicine to identify principles and action options. RESULTS: Eleven principles to improve guidelines' attentiveness to the population with multiple chronic conditions were identified during the meeting. They are grouped into 3 interrelated categories: (1) principles intended to improve the stakeholder technical process for developing guidelines; (2) principles intended to strengthen content of guidelines in terms of multiple chronic conditions; and (3) principles intended to increase focus on patient-centered care. CONCLUSION: This meeting built upon previously recommended actions by identifying additional principles and options for government, guideline developers, and others to use in strengthening the applicability of clinical practice guidelines to the growing population of people with multiple chronic conditions. The suggested principles are helping professional societies to improve guidelines' attentiveness to persons with multiple chronic conditions.

Design and rationale of the comprehensive evaluation of risk factors in older patients with AMI (SILVER-AMI) study.

BACKGROUND: While older adults (age 75 and over) represent a large and growing proportion of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), they have traditionally been under-represented in cardiovascular studies. Although chronological age confers an increased risk for adverse outcomes, our current understanding of the heterogeneity of this risk is limited. The Comprehensive Evaluation of Risk Factors in Older Patients with AMI (SILVER-AMI) study was designed to address this gap in knowledge by evaluating risk factors (including geriatric impairments, such as muscle weakness and cognitive impairments) for hospital readmission, mortality, and health status decline among older adults hospitalized for AMI. METHODS/DESIGN: SILVER-AMI is a prospective cohort study that is enrolling 3000 older adults hospitalized for AMI from a recruitment network of approximately 70 community and academic hospitals across the United States. Participants undergo a comprehensive in-hospital assessment that includes clinical characteristics, geriatric impairments, and health status measures. Detailed medical record abstraction complements the assessment with diagnostic study results, in-hospital procedures, and medications. Participants are subsequently followed for six months to determine hospital readmission, mortality, and health status decline. Multivariable regression will be used to develop risk models for these three outcomes. DISCUSSION: SILVER-AMI will fill critical gaps in our understanding of AMI in older patients. By incorporating geriatric impairments into our understanding of post-AMI outcomes, we aim to create a more personalized assessment of risk and identify potential targets for interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01755052 .

Patient Priorities-Aligned Care for Older Adults With Multiple Conditions: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.

Importance: Older adults with multiple conditions receive health care that may be burdensome, of uncertain benefit, and not focused on what matters to them. Identifying and aligning care with patients' health priorities may improve outcomes. Objective: To assess the association of receiving patient priorities care (PPC) vs usual care (UC) with relevant clinical outcomes. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this nonrandomized controlled trial with propensity adjustment, enrollment occurred between August 21, 2020, and May 14, 2021, with follow-up continuing through February 26, 2022. Patients who were aged 65 years or older and with 3 or more chronic conditions were enrolled at 1 PPC and 1 UC site within the Cleveland Clinic primary care multisite practice. Data analysis was performed from March 2022 to August 2023. Intervention: Health professionals at the PPC site guided patients through identification of values, health outcome goals, health care preferences, and top priority (ie, health problem they most wanted to focus on because it impeded their health outcome goal). Primary clinicians followed PPC decisional strategies (eg, use patients' health priorities as focus of communication and decision-making) to decide with patients what care to stop, start, or continue. Main Outcomes and Measures: Main outcomes included perceived treatment burden, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) social roles and activities, CollaboRATE survey scores, the number of nonhealthy days (based on healthy days at home), and shared prescribing decision quality measures. Follow-up was at 9 months for patient-reported outcomes and 365 days for nonhealthy days. Results: A total of 264 individuals participated, 129 in the PPC group (mean [SD] age, 75.3 [6.1] years; 66 women [48.9%]) and 135 in the UC group (mean [SD] age, 75.6 [6.5] years; 55 women [42.6%]). Characteristics between sites were balanced after propensity score weighting. At follow-up, there was no statistically significant difference in perceived treatment burden score between groups in multivariate models (difference, -5.2 points; 95% CI, -10.9 to -0.50 points; P = .07). PPC participants were almost 2.5 times more likely than UC participants to endorse shared prescribing decision-making (adjusted odds ratio, 2.40; 95% CI, 0.90 to 6.40; P = .07), and participants in the PPC group experienced 4.6 fewer nonhealthy days (95% CI, -12.9 to -3.6 days; P = .27) compared with the UC participants. These differences were not statistically significant. CollaboRATE and PROMIS Social Roles and Activities scores were similar in the 2 groups at follow-up. Conclusions and Relevance: This nonrandomized trial of priorities-aligned care showed no benefit for social roles or CollaboRATE. While the findings for perceived treatment burden and shared prescribing decision-making were not statistically significant, point estimates for the findings suggested that PPC may hold promise for improving these outcomes. Randomized trials with larger samples are needed to determine the effectiveness of priorities-aligned care. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04510948.

A method for partitioning the attributable fraction of multiple time-dependent coexisting risk factors for an adverse health outcome.

OBJECTIVES: We decomposed the total effect of coexisting diseases on a timed occurrence of an adverse outcome into additive effects from individual diseases. METHODS: In a cohort of older adults enrolled in the Precipitating Events Project in New Haven County, Connecticut, we assessed a longitudinal extension of the average attributable fraction method (LE-AAF) to estimate the additive and order-free contributions of multiple diseases to the timed occurrence of a health outcome, with right censoring, which may be useful when relationships among diseases are complex. We partitioned the contribution to death into additive LE-AAFs for multiple diseases. RESULTS: The onset of heart failure and acute episodes of pneumonia during follow-up contributed the most to death, with the overall LE-AAFs equal to 13.0% and 12.1%, respectively. The contribution of preexisting diseases decreased over the years, with a trend of increasing contribution from new onset of diseases. CONCLUSIONS: LE-AAF can be useful for determining the additive and order-free contribution of individual time-varying diseases to a time-to-event outcome.

Acceptability and use of an online health priorities self-identification tool for older adults: A qualitative investigation.

Objective: To examine the use of a web-based, self-directed health priorities identification tool for older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs). Methods: We recruited a gender- and racially-diverse, highly educated sample of older adults with MCCs to engage with our My Health Priorities tool, then complete a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was used to examine interview transcripts. Results: Twenty-one participants shared perspectives on the acceptability and use of the tool. Three themes (with eleven subthemes) were generated to describe: website user experience feedback, the content of the health priorities identification process, and the tool's capacity to empower communication and decision making. Conclusion: Participants found this tool acceptable and easy to use, describing a variety of benefits of the priorities self-identification process and offered suggestions for refinement and broader implementation. Older adults with limited internet navigation abilities or misconceptions about the self-directed process may benefit from clinicians clarifying the purpose of the process or initiating priorities-aligned discussions. Innovation: This novel tool can help older adults with MCCs define what matters most for their health and healthcare, informing a variety of health decisions. This tool may enable and motivate patients to lead health priorities decision-making discussions with clinicians and care partners.

Benefits and harms of oral anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation in nursing home residents with advanced dementia.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 20% of older persons with dementia have atrial fibrillation (AF). Nearly all have stroke risks that exceed the guideline-recommended threshold for anticoagulation. Although individuals with dementia develop profound impairments and die from the disease, little evidence exists to guide anticoagulant discontinuation, and almost one-third of nursing home residents with advanced dementia and AF remain anticoagulated in the last 6 months of life. We aimed to quantify the benefits and harms of anticoagulation in this population. METHODS: Using Minimum Data Set and Medicare claims, we conducted a retrospective cohort study with 14,877 long-stay nursing home residents aged ≥66 between 2013 and 2018 who had advanced dementia and AF. We excluded individuals with venous thromboembolism and valvular heart disease. We measured anticoagulant exposure quarterly, using Medicare Part D claims. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality; secondary outcomes were ischemic stroke and serious bleeding. We performed survival analyses with multivariable adjustment and inverse probability of treatment (IPT) weighting. RESULTS: In the study sample, 72.0% were female, 82.7% were aged ≥80 years, and 13.5% were nonwhite. Mean CHA2 DS2 VASC score was 6.19 ± 1.58. In multivariable survival analysis, anticoagulation was associated with decreased risk of death (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.67-0.75) and increased bleeding risk (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02-1.29); the association with stroke risk was not significant (HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.80-1.46). Results were similar in models with IPT weighting. While >50% of patients in both groups died within a year, median weighted survival was 76 days longer for anticoagulated individuals. CONCLUSION: Persons with advanced dementia and AF derive clinically modest life prolongation from anticoagulation, at the cost of elevated risk of bleeding. The relevance of this benefit is unclear in a group with high dementia-related mortality and for whom the primary goal is often comfort.

Changes in Older Adult Trauma Quality When Evaluated Using Longer-Term Outcomes vs In-Hospital Mortality.

Importance: Lack of knowledge about longer-term outcomes remains a critical blind spot for trauma systems. Recent efforts have expanded trauma quality evaluation to include a broader array of postdischarge quality metrics. It remains unknown how such quality metrics should be used. Objective: To examine the utility of implementing recommended postdischarge quality metrics as a composite score and ascertain how composite score performance compares with that of in-hospital mortality for evaluating associations with hospital-level factors. Design, Setting, and Participants: This national hospital-level quality assessment evaluated hospital-level care quality using 100% Medicare fee-for-service claims of older adults (aged ≥65 years) hospitalized with primary diagnoses of trauma, hip fracture, and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2015. Hospitals with annual volumes encompassing 10 or more of each diagnosis were included. The data analysis was performed between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022. Exposures: Reliability-adjusted quality metrics used to calculate composite scores included hospital-specific performance on mortality, readmission, and patients' average number of healthy days at home (HDAH) within 30, 90, and 365 days among older adults hospitalized with all forms of trauma, hip fracture, and severe TBI. Main Outcomes and Measures: Associations with hospital-level factors were compared using volume-weighted multivariable logistic regression. Results: A total of 573 554 older adults (mean [SD] age, 83.1 [8.3] years; 64.8% female; 35.2% male) from 1234 hospitals were included. All 27 reliability-adjusted postdischarge quality metrics significantly contributed to the composite score. The most important drivers were 30- and 90-day readmission, patients' average number of HDAH within 365 days, and 365-day mortality among all trauma patients. Associations with hospital-level factors revealed predominantly anticipated trends when older adult trauma quality was evaluated using composite scores (eg, worst performance was associated with decreased older adult trauma volume [odds ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.88-0.90]). Results for in-hospital mortality showed inverted associations for each considered hospital-level factor and suggested that compared with nontrauma centers, level 1 trauma centers had a 17 times higher risk-adjusted odds of worst (highest quantile) vs best (lowest quintile) performance (odds ratio, 17.08; 95% CI, 16.17-18.05). Conclusions and Relevance: The study results challenge historical notions about the adequacy of in-hospital mortality as the single measure of older adult trauma quality and suggest that, when it comes to older adults, decisions about how quality is evaluated can profoundly alter understandings of what constitutes best practices for care. Composite scores appear to offer a promising means by which postdischarge quality metrics could be used.

A Qualitative Study of "What Matters" to Older Adults in the Emergency Department.

INTRODUCTION: The "4Ms" model - What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility - is increasingly gaining attention in age-friendly health systems, yet a feasible approach to identifying what matters to older adults in the emergency department (ED) is lacking. Adapting the "What Matters" questions to the ED setting, we sought to describe the concerns and desired outcomes of both older adult patients seeking ED care and their treating clinicians. METHODS: We conducted 46 dyadic semi-structured interviews of cognitively intact older adults and their treating clinicians. We used the "What Matters" conversation guide to explore patients' 1) concerns and 2) desired outcomes. We then asked analogous questions to each patient's treating clinician regarding the patient's priorities. Interviews were professionally transcribed and coded using an inductive approach of thematic analysis to identify emergent themes. RESULTS: Interviews with older adults lasted a mean of three minutes, with a range of 1-8 minutes. Regarding patients' concerns, five themes emerged from older adults: 1) concern through a family member or outpatient clinician recommendation; 2) no concern, with a high degree of trust in the healthcare system; 3) concerns regarding symptom cause identification; 4) concerns regarding symptom resolution; and 5) concerns regarding preservation of their current status. Regarding desired outcomes, five priority themes emerged among older adults: 1) obtaining a diagnosis; 2) returning to their home environment; 3) reducing or resolving symptoms; 4) maintaining self-care and independence; and 5) gaining reassurance. Responding to what they believed mattered most to older adult patients, ED clinicians believed that older adults were concerned primarily about symptom cause identification and resolution and primarily desired a return to the home environment and symptom reduction. CONCLUSION: This work identifies concerns and desired outcomes of both older adult patients seeking ED care and their treating clinicians as well as the feasibility of incorporating the "What Matters" questions within ED clinical practice.

Effect of dissemination of evidence in reducing injuries from falls.

BACKGROUND: Falling is a common and morbid condition among elderly persons. Effective strategies to prevent falls have been identified but are underutilized. METHODS: Using a nonrandomized design, we compared rates of injuries from falls in a region of Connecticut where clinicians had been exposed to interventions to change clinical practice (intervention region) and in a region where clinicians had not been exposed to such interventions (usual-care region). The interventions encouraged primary care clinicians and staff members involved in home care, outpatient rehabilitation, and senior centers to adopt effective risk assessments and strategies for the prevention of falls (e.g., medication reduction and balance and gait training). The outcomes were rates of serious fall-related injuries (hip and other fractures, head injuries, and joint dislocations) and fall-related use of medical services per 1000 person-years among persons who were 70 years of age or older. The interventions occurred from 2001 to 2004, and the evaluations took place from 2004 to 2006. RESULTS: Before the interventions, the adjusted rates of serious fall-related injuries (per 1000 person-years) were 31.2 in the usual-care region and 31.9 in the intervention region. During the evaluation period, the adjusted rates were 31.4 and 28.6, respectively (adjusted rate ratio, 0.91; 95% Bayesian credibility interval, 0.88 to 0.94). Between the preintervention period and the evaluation period, the rate of fall-related use of medical services increased from 68.1 to 83.3 per 1000 person-years in the usual-care region and from 70.7 to 74.2 in the intervention region (adjusted rate ratio, 0.89; 95% credibility interval, 0.86 to 0.92). The percentages of clinicians who received intervention visits ranged from 62% (131 of 212 primary care offices) to 100% (26 of 26 home care agencies). CONCLUSIONS: Dissemination of evidence about fall prevention, coupled with interventions to change clinical practice, may reduce fall-related injuries in elderly persons.

Assessing the impact of screening colonoscopy on mortality in the medicare population.

BACKGROUND: Some have recommended against routine screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) among patients ≥75 years of age, while others have suggested that screening colonoscopy (SC) is less beneficial for women than men. We estimated the expected benefits (decreased mortality from CRC) and harms (SC-related mortality) of SC based on sex, age, and comorbidity. OBJECTIVE: To stratify older patients according to expected benefits and harms of SC based on sex, age, and comorbidity. DESIGN: Retrospective study using Medicare claims data. PARTICIPANTS: Medicare beneficiaries 67-94 years old with and without CRC. MAIN MEASURES: Life expectancy, CRC- and colonoscopy-attributable mortality rates across strata of sex, age, and comorbidity, pay-off time (i.e. the minimum time until benefits from SC exceeded harms), and life-years saved for every 100,000 SC. KEY RESULTS: Increasing age and comorbidity were associated with lower CRC-attributable mortality. Due to shorter life expectancy and CRC-attributable mortality, the benefits associated with SC were substantially lower among patients with greater comorbidity. Among men aged 75-79 years with no comorbidity, the number of life-years saved was 459 per 100,000 SC, while men aged 67-69 with ≥3 comorbidities had 81 life-years saved per 100,000 SC. There was no evidence that SC was less effective in women. Among men and women 75-79 with no comorbidity, number of life-years saved was 459 and 509 per 100,000 SC, respectively; among patients with ≥3 comorbidities, there was no benefit for either men or women. CONCLUSIONS: Although the effectiveness of SC was equivalent for men and women, there was substantial variation in SC effectiveness within age groups, arguing against screening recommendations based solely on age.

180-day readmission risk model for older adults with acute myocardial infarction: the SILVER-AMI study.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a 180-day readmission risk model for older adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) that considered a broad range of clinical, demographic and age-related functional domains. METHODS: We used data from ComprehenSIVe Evaluation of Risk in Older Adults with AMI (SILVER-AMI), a prospective cohort study that enrolled participants aged ≥75 years with AMI from 94 US hospitals. Participants underwent an in-hospital assessment of functional impairments, including cognition, vision, hearing and mobility. Clinical variables previously shown to be associated with readmission risk were also evaluated. The outcome was 180-day readmission. From an initial list of 72 variables, we used backward selection and Bayesian model averaging to derive a risk model (N=2004) that was subsequently internally validated (N=1002). RESULTS: Of the 3006 SILVER-AMI participants discharged alive, mean age was 81.5 years, 44.4% were women and 10.5% were non-white. Within 180 days, 1222 participants (40.7%) were readmitted. The final risk model included 10 variables: history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of heart failure, initial heart rate, first diastolic blood pressure, ischaemic ECG changes, initial haemoglobin, ejection fraction, length of stay, self-reported health status and functional mobility. Model discrimination was moderate (0.68 derivation cohort, 0.65 validation cohort), with good calibration. The predicted readmission rate (derivation cohort) was 23.0% in the lowest quintile and 65.4% in the highest quintile. CONCLUSIONS: Over 40% of participants in our sample experienced hospital readmission within 180 days of AMI. Our final readmission risk model included a broad range of characteristics, including functional mobility and self-reported health status, neither of which have been previously considered in 180-day risk models.

Outcome Goals and Health Care Preferences of Older Adults With Multiple Chronic Conditions.

Importance: Older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) vary in their health outcome goals and the health care that they prefer to receive to achieve these goals. Objective: To describe the outcome goals and health care preferences of this population with MCCs. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study included participants in the Patient Priorities Care study who underwent health priorities identification from February 1, 2017, to August 31, 2018, in a primary care practice. Patients eligible to participate were 65 years or older, English speaking, and had at least 3 chronic conditions; in addition, they used at least 10 medications, saw at least 2 specialists, or had at least 2 emergency department visits or 1 hospitalization during the past year. Of 236 eligible patients, 163 (69%) agreed to participate in this study. Data were analyzed from August 1 to October 31, 2020. Exposures: Guided by facilitators, participants identified their core values, as many as 3 actionable and realistic outcome goals, health-related barriers to these goals, and as many as 3 helpful and 3 bothersome health care activities. Main Outcomes and Measures: Frequencies were ascertained for outcome goals and health care preferences. Preferences included health care activities (medications, health care visits, procedures, diagnostic tests, and self-management) reported as either helpful or bothersome. Results: Most of the 163 participants were White (158 [96.9%]) and women (109 [66.9%]), with a mean (SD) age of 77.6 (7.6) years. Of 459 goals, the most common encompassed meals and other activities with family and friends (111 [24.2%]), shopping (28 [6.1%]), and exercising (21 [4.6%]). Twenty individuals (12.3%) desired to live independently without specifying necessary activities. Of 312 barriers identified, the most common were pain (128 [41.0%]), fatigue (45 [14.4%]), unsteadiness (42 [13.5%]), and dyspnea (19 [6.1%]). Similar proportions of patients identified at least 1 medication that was helpful (130 [79.8%]) or bothersome (128 [78.5%]). Medications most commonly cited as helpful were pain medications, including nonopiods (36 of 55 users [65.5%]) and opioids (15 of 27 users [55.6%]); sleep medications (27 of 51 users [52.9%]); and respiratory inhalants (19 of 45 [42.2%]). Most often mentioned as bothersome were statins (25 of 97 users [25.8%]) and antidepressants (13 of 40 users [32.5%]). Thirty-two participants (19.6%) reported using too many medications. Health care visits were identified as helpful by 43 participants (26.4%); 15 (9.2%) reported too many visits. Procedures were named helpful by 38 participants (23.3%); 24 (14.7%) cited unwanted procedures. Among 48 participants with diabetes, monitoring of glucose levels was doable for 18 (37.5%) and too bothersome for 9 (18.8%). Conclusions and Relevance: Participants identified realistic and actionable goals while varying in health care activities deemed helpful or bothersome. The goals and health care preferences of more diverse populations must be explored. Previous work suggests that clinicians can use this information in decision-making.

Complex and Potentially Harmful Medication Patterns in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction.

BACKGROUND: Complex medication regimens, often present in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, may increase the risk of adverse drug effects and harm. We sought to characterize this complexity by determining the prevalence of polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medications, and therapeutic competition (where a medication for 1 condition may worsen another condition) in 1 of the few dedicated heart failure with preserved ejection fraction programs in the United States. METHODS: We conducted chart review on 231 patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction seen in the University of Michigan's Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Clinic between July 2016 and September 2019. We recorded: 1) standing medications to determine the presence of polypharmacy, defined as ≥10 medications; 2) potentially inappropriate medications based on the 2016 American Heart Association Scientific Statement on drugs that pose a major risk of causing or exacerbating heart failure, the 2019 Beers Criteria update, or a previously described list of medications associated with geriatric syndromes; and 3) competing conditions and subsequent medications that could create therapeutic competition. RESULTS: The prevalence of polypharmacy was 74%, and the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications was 100%. Competing conditions were present in 81% of patients, of whom 49% took a medication that created therapeutic competition. CONCLUSION: In addition to confirming that polypharmacy was highly prevalent, we found that potentially inappropriate medications and therapeutic competition were also frequently present. This supports the urgent need to develop patient-centered approaches to mitigate the negative effects of complex medication regimens endemic to adults with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Falls in older adults after hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: After hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), older adults may be at increased risk for falls due to deconditioning, new medications, and worsening health status. Our primary objective was to identify risk factors for falls after AMI hospitalization among adults over age 75. METHODS: We used data from the Comprehensive Evaluation of Risk Factors in Older Patients with AMI (SILVER-AMI) study, a prospective cohort study of 3041 adults age 75 and older hospitalized with AMI at 94 community and academic medical centers across the United States. In-person interviews and physical assessments, as well as medical record review, were performed to collect demographic, clinical, functional, and psychosocial data. Falls were self-reported in telephone interviews and medically serious falls (those associated with emergency department use or hospitalization) were determined by medical record adjudication. Backward selection was used to identify predictors of fall risk in logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 554 (21.6%) participants reported a fall and 191 (6.4%) had a medically serious fall within 6 months of discharge. Factors independently associated with self-reported falls included impaired mobility, prior fall history, longer hospital stay, visual impairment, and weak grip. Factors independently associated with medically serious falls included older age, polypharmacy, impaired functional mobility, prior fall history, and living alone. CONCLUSIONS: Among older patients hospitalized for AMI, falls are common in the 6 months following discharge and associated with demographic, functional, and clinical factors that are readily identifiable. Fall risk should be considered in post-AMI clinical decision-making and interventions to prevent falls should be evaluated.