Discharge of newborns with risk factors of severe hyperbilirubinemia: description of a hospital at home-based care monitoring and phototherapy.

Neonatal jaundice is common and associated with delay in hospital discharge and risk of neurological sequelae if not treated. The objectives of the study were to report on our experience of the monitoring and treatment of neonatal jaundice in a home care setting and its feasibility and safety for neonates with high risk of severe hyperbilirubinemia. The 2-year study has been led in the greater Paris University Hospital At Home (Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris). The device of the intervention was the Bilicocoon® Bag, a light-emitting diode sleeping bag worn by the neonate when the total serum bilirubin value exceeds intensive phototherapy threshold, according to the guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. One hundred and thirty-nine neonates had participated in the intervention and 39 (28%) were treated by phototherapy at home, as continuation of inpatient phototherapy or started at home. Seventy-five percent of the sample had more than two risk factors for development of severe hyperbilirubinemia. Twenty five percent of the cohort who received phototherapy at home had lower gestational age (p < 0.014) and had younger age at discharge from maternity (p < 0.09). Median length of stay in hospital at home was 5 days. Two patients needed readmission in conventional hospital (1%) for less than 24 h. In multivariate model, the length of stay decreased with the higher gestational age (p < 0.001) and increased significantly with the older age at discharge, the birth weight < 10th percentile, and a treatment by phototherapy at home.    Conclusion: Hospital at home, which is a whole strategy using an effective and convenient phototherapy device combined with a specialized medical follow-up, could be an alternative to conventional hospitalization for neonates at high risk of severe jaundice. The maternity discharge is facilitated, the mother-infant bonding can be promoted, and the risk of conventional rehospitalization is minimal, while guaranteeing the safety of this specific care. What is Known: • Managing neonatal jaundice is provided in conventional hospital with phototherapy. • Neonatal jaundice increases the risk of prolonged hospitalization or readmission. What is New: • Phototherapy is feasible in hospital at home for neonates with high risk of severe hyperbilirubinemia. • The care pathway of neonates from conventional hospital to hospital at home is described.

Treatment for multiple myeloma in hospital at home: clinical characteristics and patient care pathways.

While most patients receive anticancer injection in a conventional hospital, some are treated in hospital at home. Given the lack of data, we seek to determine the clinical characteristics and care pathways of patients benefiting from hospital at home (HAH) for anticancer injection. A longitudinal scheme was conducted about patients with multiple myeloma (MM) starting bortezomib-based regimens in HAH in 2015 with a follow-up to September 2019. 154 patients received bortezomib at home with a mean age of 70.6 years, 72.7% over 65y-old and, a median Karnofsky Performans Status of 70. One-third of the elderly lived alone, 16.1% required domestic help. After a 24-month follow-up, 77.9% of patients were alive. The median overall survival was not reached at 4 years. Between 42.1% and 48.1% of patients returned to HAH for a new line of treatment. Patients were mainly independent and "fit." The involvement of HAH was achieved without safety issues nor compromise long-term outcomes. However, the real-world patterns highlighted that only a small proportion of patients returned to HAH for a new treatment line.

Organization of patient transfer from conventional hospital to hospitalization at home / Organisation du transfert des patients de l'hospitalisation conventionnelle vers l'hospitalisation à domicile

INTRODUCTION: The organization of patient transfer from conventional hospital to hospitalization at home (HAH) is not well known. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH: Our study aims to describe this organization by identifying the key professionals of the pathways and the incentives and obstacles to the continuity of care. RESULTS: Patient transfer from conventional hospital to HAH is a period of strong tension between all health care professionals and the organization of discharge is not sufficiently anticipated by hospital prescribers. The description of the patient clinical state is not always shared between the conventional hospital and the HAH professionals mainly when they do not work together. An HAH physician can be of support. Finally, the HAH nurse has a main role at the interface of the hospital department, the patient, and the home care professionals with an important activity of coordination of interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Patient transfer from conventional hospital to HAH should be anticipated by hospital professionals upon entrance and common needs assessment tools would allow a better security of the pathways.

Introduction: L'organisation du transfert des patients de l'hospitalisation conventionnelle vers l'hospitalisation à domicile (HAD) est peu connue. But de l'étude: Notre étude a eu pour objectif de décrire cette organisation en identifiant les acteurs clés de ce parcours avec les incitatifs et les obstacles à la continuité des soins. Résultats: Le transfert des patients de l'hospitalisation conventionnelle vers l'HAD est une période de forte tension entre tous les professionnels de santé et l'organisation de la sortie est peu anticipée par les prescripteurs hospitaliers. La description de l'état clinique du patient n'est pas toujours partagée entre les médecins hospitaliers et les infirmières de l'HAD, surtout lorsqu'ils n'ont pas l'habitude de travailler ensemble. Le médecin coordonnateur de l'HAD contribue dans ce contexte à construire une vision commune. Enfin, l'infirmière de l'HAD joue un rôle central, à l'interface entre le service hospitalier, le patient et les professionnels du domicile, avec une forte activité de coordination des interventions. Conclusion: Le transfert des patients de l'hôpital conventionnel vers l'HAD devrait être anticipé par les professionnels hospitaliers dès l'entrée en hospitalisation et l'utilisation d'outils communs d'évaluation des besoins permettrait une meilleure sécurisation des parcours.

Impacts on health outcomes and on resources utilization for anticancer drugs injection at home, a complex intervention: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: As hospital-based home care is a complex intervention, we critically appraised the key elements that could ensure the completeness of assessment and explain the heterogeneity of the literature results about the comparison between home and hospital setting for the anticancer drugs injection within the same standards of clinical care. METHODS: Systematic review was conducted. Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Sciences, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (Cinahl) searched to February 1, 2019, and combined with grey literature. Methodological quality has been rated using the "Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies" developed by the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHHP) in addition to the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement for economic studies and the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist for qualitative studies. RESULTS: Of 400 records identified, we identified 13 relevant studies (nine quantitative and four mixed-method studies). The quality of studies was hardly strong. The home-based anticancer injection involved highly heterogeneous home care interventions that generally kept a strong link with the hospital setting. The study schemes limited the comparison of clinical outcomes (OS, PFS, toxicity). Unlike the quality of life remaining similar, patients preferred to be treated at home. Cost savings were in favor of Hospital at Home, but the charge categories used to compare or the home intervention were heterogeneous and rarely integrating relatives' duties and hospital staff's time. Qualitative studies highlighted about benefits and barriers of home. CONCLUSION: The current state of evidence shows as it still remains difficult to appraise the anticancer injection at home when considering the details of this complex intervention, the role of each stakeholder, and the missing data.

The experience of patients and family caregivers during hospital-at-home in France.

BACKGROUND: Public health policies tend to generalize the use of Hospital-At-Home (HAH) to answer the growing will of patients to be treated or to die at home. HAH is a model of care that provides acute-level services in the patient's home with the interventions of variety of health care professionals. Relatives participate also in the interventions by helping for sick patients at home, but we lack data on the care of patients and caregivers in HAH. The aim of this study was to make an inventory of the experiences of patients and family caregivers in HAH. METHODS: The research was qualitative using nineteen semi-directed interviews from nine patients and ten caregivers of one care unit of Greater Paris University Hospitals' HAH, and the grounded theory was used to analyze the transcripts. Caregivers were also asked, after the interview, to fill in the Zarit Burden Inventory. RESULTS: HAH remained mostly unknown for patients and caregivers before the admission proposition and the outlook of being admitted in HAH was perceived as positive, for both of them. Caregivers had a versatile role throughout HAH, leading to situations of suffering, but also had sources of support. The return home was considered satisfactory by both caregivers and patients, related to the quality of care and increased morale despite HAH's organizational constraints. We noted an impact of HAH on the relationship between the patient and the caregiver(s), but caused by multiple factors: the fact that the care takes places at home, its consequences but also the disease itself. CONCLUSION: HAH strongly involved the patient's caregiver(s) all along the process. HAH's development necessitates to associate both patients and caregivers and to take into account their needs at every step. This study highlights the need to better assess the ability of the caregiver to cope with his or her relative in HAH with acute and subacute care at home.

[Clinical characteristics, care professionals' intervention and care complexity for elderly patients in home hospitalization]. / Soins en HAD : aspects cliniques, complexité et modalités d'intervention des soignants.

INTRODUCTION: The number of elderly patients in home care in France is currently increasing. Our objective is to describe the clinical characteristics, the care professionals' intervention and the complexity of follow-up care for this elderly population. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study with a sample of 50 elderly patients aged 75 and over living at home and followed-up in home hospitalization in 2016 by the Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris. The collection of data used the interRAI-CA tool (Resident Assessment Instrument - Contact Assessment). RESULTS: The average age of the sample was 84 years with 48% women, 26% living alone and 96% having a caregiver who had difficulty in caring in 33.3% of cases. Patients had numerous diseases with 68% of the sample who had cognitive difficulties with functional disabilities; Most of them reported pain and 52% had unstable clinical situation. The main care interventions were complex wounds, supportive care and palliative care with technical care and 80% of the sample mobilized more than 3 professionals. Care was considered to be of a high level of complexity for 74% of the elderly patients. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that elderly patients had care complexity with technical and multi-faceted care implying coordination of stakeholders and support for caregivers. Implementing at-home hospitalization allows to transfer some geriatric patients from hospitalization to the home care and helps the structuration of the geriatric expertise among the primary care services.

[Palliative care at home: patient care pathways and clinical characteristics]. / Patients en situation palliative en hospitalisation à domicile : trajectoires de soins et caractéristiques cliniques.

INTRODUCTION: The great majority of French people express their desire to receive palliative care at home. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical care pathways and characteristics of patient receiving hospital at home palliative care. METHODS: This study compared the care pathways and clinical characteristics of patients receiving palliative care at home in the Ile-de-France region in 2014. Retrospective data were extracted from the French medical information systems programme. RESULTS: 817 patients receiving palliative care at home were included in the study. They were older, more often referred to hospital at home by a primary care physician, had shorter lengths of stay and more often died at home compared to patients without palliative care. Palliative care patients mainly presented cancer and received frequent technical nursing care. The oldest patients (≥ 75 years old) more often presented neurodegenerative diseases, were less often transferred to hospital, and more often died at home compared to younger patients. A higher proportion of home deaths was observed in nursing home residents and patients who died at home required less technical nursing care. CONCLUSION: This study provides important information concerning admission to hospital at home, the frequent changes of places of care and the complexity of maintaining palliative care at home until the patient's death.

Participation of general practitioners in the management of their "hospital at home" patients / Participation des médecins généralistes dans les prises en charge de leurs patients en hospitalisation à domicile.

Objectives: Hospital at home (HAH) care is becoming increasingly popular in France and requires the involvement of general practitioners (GPs) in the care of their patients. The objective of this study was to identify the incentives and barriers to the involvement of general practitioners in HAH. Materials and methods: A qualitative study was carried out using semi-structured interviews during a focus group with 12 GPs. All interviews were recorded and then transcribed verbatim and data analysis used the grounded theory method. Results: General practitioners appeared to be familiar with the indications and places of care for HAH, but they highlighted the difficulties associated with the HAH request circuit. GPs identified difficulties determining their exact role in HAH, which were improved by their clinical expertise in home visits. Doctors stressed the complexity of home care, but they were assisted by the coordinating physician and they requested specific training. Conclusion: We identified incentives and barriers to the participation of GPs in HAH. The request circuit needs to be simplified, home visits need to be strengthened and support must be provided to GPs in their management of complex care.

[Impact on professional practices of a care protocol implemented between usual hospital care and hospital at home]. / Impacts sur les pratiques professionnelles d’un protocole de soins mis en place entre l’hospitalisation avec hébergement et l’hospitalisation à domicile.

BACKGROUND: Implementation of a care protocol between usual hospital care and hospital at home (HAH) could improve the quality of care and decrease fragmentations of the French healthcare system. This study evaluated the impact on professional practices of a care protocol implemented between a surgery unit and hospital at home. METHODS: Twenty healthcare professionals (nurses, head nurses, physicians) from HAH and a Paris public hospital urology unit were interviewed by a public heath physician. Semistructured interviews were analyzed using the grounded theory. RESULTS: Professional practices were modified with better traceability of care, greater safety for professionals and for patients, standardization of practices and improved continuity of interventions between hospital and hospital at home. However, these changes in practices appeared to be limited to the protocol itself and indicated potential enhancement of technical aspects to the detriment of human contact. CONCLUSION: This care protocol has an encouraging impact on the quality of care. These results demonstrate the value of extending this approach to other wards to improve continuity of care between usual hospital care and hospital at home.

[New professional field in France: Analysis of the training needs of case managers]. / Nouveau champ professionnel en France. Les besoins de formation des gestionnaires de cas.

Case management is a relatively new career field in France. It was first introduced on an experimental basis in 2007-2008, and was then developedfollowing the National Alzheimer Plan and finally enshrined in legislation in 2012. This careerfield is based on a set of tasks widely described internationally: identifying the right level of intervention, standardized multidimensional assessment, planning all aid (care and social services), implementation of the plan, monitoring and reassessment and periodic reassessment of all needs in a continuous and long-term process. The specific, systematic and dedicated nature of these tasks to these tasks makes training essential. Regulations also stipulate that the professional must acquire additional training by a dedicated inter-university degree. This requirement is a French specificity The authors present the history of case management and training in France and analyze the various international training frameworks identified by an Internet search. Moreover, based on the opinions expressed by case managers at different times of the scientific assessment and a review ofseveral studies conducted by inter-university case management program students, this article highlights the specific training needs of case managers and how the proposed training can meet these needs.

Multidisciplinary teams of case managers in the implementation of an innovative integrated services delivery for the elderly in France.

BACKGROUND: The case management process is now well defined, and teams of case managers have been implemented in integrated services delivery. However, little is known about the role played by the team of case managers and the value in having multidisciplinary case management teams. The objectives were to develop a fuller understanding of the role played by the case manager team and identify the value of inter-professional collaboration in multidisciplinary teams during the implementation of an innovative integrated service in France. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study with focus groups comprising 14 multidisciplinary teams for a total of 59 case managers, six months after their recruitment to the MAIA program (Maison Autonomie Integration Alzheimer). RESULTS: Most of the case managers saw themselves as being part of a team of case managers (91.5%). Case management teams help case managers develop a comprehensive understanding of the integration concept, meet the complex needs of elderly people and change their professional practices. Multidisciplinary case management teams add value by helping case managers move from theory to practice, by encouraging them develop a comprehensive clinical vision, and by initiating the interdisciplinary approach. CONCLUSIONS: The multidisciplinary team of case managers is central to the implementation of case management and helps case managers develop their new role and a core inter-professional competency.

[Coordination in hospital-based home care]. / Coordination gérontologique en HAD.

Hospital at home involves multidisciplinary teams who provide care 24/7 in the homes of increasingly elderly patients. They present complex medical, mental and social needs with secondary functional incapacities.

[From comprehensive geriatric assessment to an integrated multidimensional assessment system : interRAI tools and their applications]. / De l'évaluation gériatrique standardisée à un système intégré d'évaluation multidimensionnelle : les outils interRAI et leurs applications.

The multidimensional assessment carried out with interRAI tools constitutes an operationalization of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and is adapted to the specificities of each place of care. From a single assessment, the interRAI approach makes it possible to conduct a multidimensional assessment of functional autonomy and to produce a series of indicators (health, areas of intervention, quality of care and consumption of resources). It helps to identify clinical needs to be the subject of a personalized care plan and the strengths and weaknesses of health organizations to modify the professional practices. Compared to standardized geriatric assessment, interRAI tools consider the person's expectations and resources, offer a universal common language, produce a multidimensional synthesis and facilitate the construction of an integrated information system. The basis for their development is scientificity based on evidence.

Diffusion of a collaborative care model in primary care: a longitudinal qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Although collaborative team models (CTM) improve care processes and health outcomes, their diffusion poses challenges related to difficulties in securing their adoption by primary care clinicians (PCPs). The objectives of this study are to understand: (1) how the perceived characteristics of a CTM influenced clinicians' decision to adopt -or not- the model; and (2) the model's diffusion process. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal case study based on the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. First, diffusion curves were developed for all 175 PCPs and 59 nurses practicing in one borough of Paris. Second, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a representative sample of 40 PCPs and 15 nurses to better understand the implementation dynamics. RESULTS: Diffusion curves showed that 3.5 years after the start of the implementation, 100% of nurses and over 80% of PCPs had adopted the CTM. The dynamics of the CTM's diffusion were different between the PCPs and the nurses. The slopes of the two curves are also distinctly different. Among the nurses, the critical mass of adopters was attained faster, since they adopted the CTM earlier and more quickly than the PCPs. Results of the semi-structured interviews showed that these differences in diffusion dynamics were mostly founded in differences between the PCPs' and the nurses' perceptions of the CTM's compatibility with norms, values and practices and its relative advantage (impact on patient management and work practices). Opinion leaders played a key role in the diffusion of the CTM among PCPs. CONCLUSION: CTM diffusion is a social phenomenon that requires a major commitment by clinicians and a willingness to take risks; the role of opinion leaders is key. Paying attention to the notion of a critical mass of adopters is essential to developing implementation strategies that will accelerate the adoption process by clinicians.

[Single entry point in a gerontological network for addressing the needs of older people]. / Un guichet unique dans un réseau gérontologique pour i'orientation des personnes âgées.

INTRODUCTION: A single entry point for the elderly is important for the integration of services and for standardizing needs assessment processes. The role of a single entry point role is to refer older persons to the appropriate social and/or health services. The purpose of this paper is to describe the relationships between institutional partners and their use of the single entry point in a gerontological network. METHODS: The gerontological network "Ancrage" is one of the first integrated care models with a single entry point to be implemented in France. The contact assessment tool known as CHIP (Community Hospital Intake Profile) is used to assess the needs of elderly people living at home and to make referrals. The data collected included all the requests made by partners at the single entry point over the course of one year (2008). RESULTS: A total of 303 requests were submitted to the single entry point by all partners (i.e. health and social professionals). These requests came from primary care professionals (68.3%), notably family physicians (29.3%). The needs of elderly people varied according to the type of requester. Most of those involved were directed toward the gerontological network (59.2%) and had more complex needs (no support from an informal caregiver and more difficulties in performing daily activities). CONCLUSION: A single entry point is designed to involve all institutional partners and to meet the needs of the elderly. The level of involvement among physicians is high, and elderly people directed toward the gerontological network have the most complex clinical needs.

Implementation of palliative care day hospital for outpatients with advanced cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the population of a palliative care day hospital (PCDH) in oncology and analyse the end-of-life trajectory. METHODS: Monocentric retrospective cohort study of all referred patients for the first time to PCDH over an 8-month period with the data collected in all PCDH in their pathway care. RESULTS: 116 patients were included for 319 stays in PCDH. At first referral PCDH, 62 (53.4%) patients had ongoing anticancer therapy. Twenty-four (20.7%) and 63 (54.3%) patients were in an unstable and deteriorating phase, respectively. Mean (SD) Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score was 2.8 (0.7). Mean (SD) stay per patient was 2.8 (2.2). For all stays, mean (SD) of joint intervention of palliative care team and oncologist was 1.2 (1.2) per patient. Mean (SD) of technical acts performed was 0.2 (0.6) per patient. Among the 109 deceased patients, 16 patients (14.7%) and 7 patients (6.4%) had received chemotherapy in the last month and 15 days before death, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our PCDH is a suitable place for a complex population still living at home. The reported patients' demographics and PCDH's organisation lead to a hybrid outpatient intervention between outpatient clinics and hospice care services. A randomised multicentric trial is ongoing to explore the impact of PCDH on patients' trajectory and the use of resources.

Thirty-day hospital readmission predictors in older patients receiving hospital-at-home: a 3-year retrospective study in France.

OBJECTIVE: This study described older patients receiving hospitalisation-at-home (HaH) services and identified factors associated with 30-day hospital readmission. DESIGN: 3-year retrospective study in 2017-2019 in France. PARTICIPANTS: 75 108 patients aged 75 years and older who were discharged from hospital medical wards (internal medicine and geriatric units) and admitted to HaH. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: 30-day hospital readmission. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 83.4 years (SD 5.7), 52.3% were male and 88.4% lived in a private household. Patients were primarily discharged from the internal medicine unit (85.3%). The top four areas of care in the HaH were palliative care, complex dressing, intravenous therapy and complex nursing care. Overall, 23.5% of patients died during their HaH stay and 27.8% were readmitted to the hospital at 30 days. In the multivariate model, male (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.23), supportive cancer HaH care (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.51 to 2.11) and very high intensity care during the previous in-person hospitalisation (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.34 to 1.57) increased the risk of hospital readmission at 30 days. Older age (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.97 to 0.98), living in a nursing home (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.54), postsurgery HaH care (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.58) and having been previously hospitalised in a geriatric unit (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.85) decreased the risk of hospital readmission at 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: HaH provides complex care to very old patients, which is associated with high mortality. Several factors are associated with rehospitalisation within 30 days that could be avoided with better integration of different services with higher geriatric skills. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CNIL:2228861.

[Emergency intervention of hospitalisation at home in nursing home during the pandemic period of Covid-19]. / Intervention en urgence de l'hospitalisation à domicile en établissement d'hébergement pour personnes âgées dépendantes pendant la période pandémique de la Covid-19.

BACKGROUND: In the context of the pandemic Covid-19, the Hospitalization A Home (HAH) of the Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP) has implemented a new organisation with emergency interventions to meet the needs of residents in palliative care in nursing home. The objective of the study was to describe their clinical characteristics, the modalities of the intervention and their care pathways during the HAH intervention. METHODS: This is a descriptive study on the emergency intervention of the HAH in 74 nursing home in the area of Ile-de-France during one month (April 2020) with a sample of 132 residents. The data collection included the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of residents and on data about nursing home included. RESULTS: Emergency intervention of the HAH in nursing home involved very elderly residents with severe functional disabilities and with signs of respiratory failure linked to the Covid 19. The intervention took place mainly during the day and the week with a territorial heterogeneity and with a double medical validation between the prescribers and the HAH physician. Seventy per cent of the residents died at their living place. Among nursing home included, they were of medium size, mainly with private status and a large majority had already collaborated with the APHP's HAH. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Emergency intervention of the HAH in nursing home was feasible and responded to an unmeet need for palliative care residents. These results should allow the ongoing development of this new organization for elderly population living in private homes.

The Implementation of Integrated Health Information Systems - Research Studies from 7 Countries Involving the InterRAI Assessment System.

Introduction: In the past years, governments from several countries have shown interest in implementing integrated health information systems. The interRAI Suite of instruments fits this concept, as it is a set of standardised, evidence-based assessments, which have been validated for different care settings. The system allows the electronic transfer of information across care settings, enabling integration of care and providing support for care planning and quality monitoring. The main purpose of this research is to describe the recent implementation process of the interRAI instruments in seven countries: Belgium, Switzerland, France, Ireland, Iceland, Finland and New Zealand. Methods: The study applied a case study methodology with the focus on the implementation strategies in each country. Principal investigators gathered relevant information from multiple sources and summarised it according to specific aspects of the implementation process, comparing them across countries. The main implementation aspects are described, as well as the main advantages and barriers perceived by the users. Results: The seven case studies showed that adequate staffing, appropriate information technology, availability of hardware, professional collaboration and continuous training are perceived as important factors which can contribute to the implementation of the interRAI instruments. In addition, the use of electronic standardised assessment instruments such as the interRAI Suite provided evidence to improve decision-making and quality of care, enabling resource planning and benchmarking. Conclusion: In practice, the implementation of health information systems is a process that requires a cultural shift of policymakers and professional caregivers at all levels of health policy and service delivery. Information about the implementation process of the interRAI Suite in different countries can help investigators and policymakers to better plan this implementation. This research sheds light on the advantages and pitfalls of the implementation of the interRAI Suite of instruments and proposes approaches to overcome difficulties.

Use of standardized multidimensional evaluation tools and the emergence of the case manager's professional identity in France.

In France, the national public health plan proposes a group of innovations including the initiation of case management for older adults in complex situations, particularly those with cognitive disorders. In this context, public authorities asked case managers to use a standardized multidimensional evaluation tool. The results of a qualitative study on the pertinence of such a tool relative to the emergence of this new professional field are described. Early use of an evaluation tool seems to be linked to the emergence of a new professional identity for recently recruited case managers. Factors determining the strength of this link are training tool standardization, computerization, and local structure's involvement. Our results contribute to identifying one of the ways by which professional identity can be changed to become a case manager.