Screening

A Multidisciplinary Intervention Improves Primary Care Screenings for Older Adults

An educational intervention increases primary care screenings for falls and dementia in older adults, according to the results of a recent study.1 The intervention combined an educational course on screening for geriatric health concerns and an electronic record flowsheet with screening questions.

The educational course was delivered to 262 interprofessional health care providers, including primary care providers, medical assistants, nurses, and social workers. The flowsheet, containing 2 questions on falls and dementia, was automatically triggered during the office visits of patients aged 65 years or older. A total of 6670 older adults from 8 participating Federally Qualified Health Centers in Indianapolis were included.

The researchers included screenings for falls and dementia in the year before and the year following the interventions. The results indicated that the screening rates increased significantly following the start of the intervention for both dementia and falls.

“There is a shortage of geriatrics specialists, so most older adults receive care from a primary care provider. That’s why it is so important to integrate geriatrics into primary care,” concluded lead study author Debra Litzelman, MD, MA, in a press release.2 “We created an intervention that improves attitudes toward older adults and leverages teamwork to integrate these important screenings into care delivery. This study demonstrates that this intervention can be successfully implemented in primary care settings.”

—Leigh Precopio

References:

  1. Litzelman DK, Butler DE, Illoabuchi T, et al. Combined interprofessional education and system intervention to improve screening older adults for dementia and falls. Gerontol Geriatr Educ. Published online November 10, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2021.2001336
  2. Intervention leads to increase in primary care screenings for older adults. News release. Regenstrief Institute; January 13, 2022. Accessed January 13, 2022. https://www.regenstrief.org/article/intervention-leads-to-increase-primary-care-screenings-older-adults/