Lessons Learned From a Pilot Project on Telemedicine Advance Care Planning in an Urban Geriatric Primary Care Office

2021 ◽  
pp. 104990912110369
Author(s):  
Olivia M. Seecof ◽  
Molly Allanoff ◽  
John Liantonio ◽  
Susan Parks
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Medical Record ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Geriatric Population ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
Primary Care Office

Purpose: There is a dearth of literature regarding the documentation of advance care planning (ACP) in the geriatric population, despite the controversial, yet well-studied need for ACP. The purpose of this pilot study was to provide an update to a prior study from our institution that outlined the need for increased documentation of advance care planning (ACP) in an urban geriatric population. Methods: Our study involved using telemedicine to conduct dedicated ACP visits and an electronic medical record (EMR) note-template specifically designed for these visits in an attempt to increase the amount of documented ACP in the EMR in this population. Results: The study did not yield significant results due to the inability to schedule enough patients for these dedicated visits. Discussion: While our study was ultimately unsuccessful, 3 crucial lessons were identified that will inform and fuel future interventions by the authors to further the study of documentation of ACP.

scholarly journals Educational Interventions to Improve Advance Care Planning Discussions, Documentation and Billing

2020 ◽  
pp. 104990912095108
Author(s):  
Cristine B. Henage ◽  
J. Marvin McBride ◽  
Joseph Pino ◽  
Jessica Williams ◽  
Jill Vedovi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Medical Record ◽  
Electronic Medical Record ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Interprofessional Team ◽  
Advance Care

Background/Objectives: To determine the impact of educational interventions, clinic workflow redesign, and quality improvement coaching on the frequency of advance care planning (ACP) activities for patients over the age of 65. Design: Nonrandomized before-and-after study. Setting: 13 ambulatory care clinics with 81 primary care providers in eastern and central North Carolina. Participants: Patients across 13 primary care clinics staffed by 66 physicians, 8 physician assistants and 7 family nurse practitioners. Interventions: Interprofessional, interactive ACP training for the entire interprofessional team and quality improvement project management with an emphasis on workflow redesign. Measurements: From July 2017 through June 2018—number of ACP discussions, number of written ACP documents incorporated into the electronic medical record (EMR), number of ACP encounters billed. Results: Following the interventions, healthcare providers were more than twice as likely to conduct ACP discussions with their patients. Patients were 1.4 times more likely to have an ACP document included in their electronic medical record. Providers were significantly ( p < 0.05) more likely to bill for an ACP encounter in only one clinic. Conclusions: Implementing ACP education for all clinic staff, planning for workflow changes to involve the entire interprofessional team and supporting ACP activities with quality improvement coaching leads to statistically significant improvements in the frequency of ACP discussions, the number of ACP documents included in the electronic medical record and number of ACP encounters billed.

scholarly journals Advance Care Planning in Primary Care. A Retrospective Medical Record Study Among Patients With Different Illness Trajectories.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne A.C. Bekker ◽  
A. Suntjens ◽  
Y. Engels ◽  
H. Schers ◽  
Gert P. Westert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Organ Failure ◽  
Medical Record ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Advance Care

Abstract BackgroundAdvance Care Planning (ACP) enables physicians to align healthcare with patients wishes, reduces burdensome life-prolonging medical interventions, and potentially improves the quality of life of patients in the last phase of life. However, little objective information is available about the extent to which structured ACP conversations are held in general practice. Our aim was to examine the documentation of ACP for patients with cancer, organ failure and multimorbidity in medical records (as a proxy for ACP application) in Dutch general practice. MethodsWe chose a retrospective medical record study design in seven primary care facilities. Medical records of 119 patients who died non-suddenly (55 cancer, 28 organ failure and 36 multimorbidity) were analysed. Other variables were: general characteristics, data on ACP documentation, correspondence between medical specialist and GP, and healthcare utilization in the last two years of life. ResultsIn 65% of the records, one or more ACP items was registered. Most often documented were aspects regarding euthanasia (35%), the preferred place of care and death (29%) and concerns and hopes towards the future (29%). Median timing of the first ACP conversation was 126 days before death. ACP was more often documented in patients with cancer (84%) than in those with organ failure (57%) or multimorbidity (42%) (p = 0,000). Patients with cancer had the most frequent (median 3 times, inter-quartile range (IQR) 2-5), and extensive (median 5 items, IQR 2-7) ACP consultations. ConclusionDocumentation of ACP items in medical records by GPs is present, but incomplete, especially in patients with multimorbidity or organ failure. We recommend more attention for, and documentation of ACP in daily practice in order to start anticipatory conversations in time, and to address the needs of all people living with advanced conditions in primary care.

Advance care planning in the community

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Nightingale ◽  
Scott Murray ◽  
Chris Absolon
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Personalized Care ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Professional Quality ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
Community Movement

Advance care planning (ACP) is becoming more widely used as part of a drive to improve personalized care planning, but there is still more work to be done. Electronic Palliative Care Co-ordination systems (EPaCCs) have proved to be very effective in some areas but there are many barriers to be overcome before they are universally available. This chapter covers recent developments leading to the wider integration of ACP into primary care. These include policy initiatives, educational opportunities, information technology (IT), professional quality control and regulation, financial and business incentives, and the Compassionate Community movement. The chapter includes an overview of issues surrounding ACP in primary care and in the community.

scholarly journals IMPACT OF GERIATRIC INTERPROFESSIONAL TRAINING ON ADVANCE CARE PLANNING IN GERIATRIC PRIMARY CARE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S151-S152
Author(s):  
Maureen E Barrientos ◽  
Anna Chodos ◽  
Alicia Neumann ◽  
Yvonne Troya ◽  
Pei Chen
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Office Visits ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
Telephone Calls

Abstract Currently, an important measure of Advance Care Planning (ACP), Advance Health Care Directives (AHCD) documentation rate, is at 33% for older adults in the United States. To address this disparity, geriatric faculty in an academic geriatric primary care practice aimed to train geriatrics fellows and other interprofessional (IP) learners to engage patients in ACP. As part of a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, geriatrics faculty and the Medical Legal Partnership for Seniors based at University of California Hastings College of Law provided ACP training to fellows and IP learners, including social work interns. In practice, the fellows and social work interns collaborated to incorporate ACP into patient visits and follow-up telephone calls. To monitor ACP progress, research staff reviewed patients’ electronic health records and performed descriptive analysis of the data. In 21 months, 4 geriatrics fellows built a panel of 59 patients who on average had 3 office visits and 7 telephone calls per person. Prior to clinic enrollment, 12 (20.3%) patients had preexisting AHCD, and 47 lacked AHCD documentation. After ACP intervention, 42 of 47 patients without AHCD documentation engaged in ACP discussion. Of those who engaged in ACP discussion, 24 completed AHCD, raising AHCD completion rate to 61%, or 36 patients in the panel of 59. ACP is a complex process that benefits from skilled communication among interprofessional providers and patients. Findings underscore the potential advantages of IP training and engaging patients in ACP discussion in an academic primary care setting.

Improving advance care planning in high‐risk hospitalised patients: a knowledge translation pilot study

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-624
Author(s):  
Arvind Rajamani ◽  
Karen Fernandez ◽  
Hailey Carpen ◽  
Upul Liyanage ◽  
Jeffery Zijian Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Knowledge Translation ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Hospitalised Patients ◽  
Advance Care

Initiating Advance Care Planning in Primary Care: A Model for Success

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara L. Rose ◽  
Stephanie Leung ◽  
Jillian Gustin ◽  
Julie Childers
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Advance Care
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