Faculty Bibliography

As the population ages, more older adults will undergo surgical procedures, and common physiologic changes can raise the risk for surgical complications while increasing morbidity and mortality. In conjunction with the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, we piloted a comprehensive and interdisciplinary assessment and intervention protocol for perioperative care for patients aged ≥75 years undergoing elective general, gynecology-oncologic, and orthopedic surgery. The intervention included screening tools for cognitive, functional, and nutritional deficits, a Geriatric Nurse Champion on each inpatient surgical unit, and an interdisciplinary Geriatric Surgery Quality Committee. Our intervention group was compared to surgical patients during the same time period 1 year prior to the intervention, and the groups were well matched in demographics and comorbidities. The intervention group had significantly higher rates of advance care plan documentation in analysis of all patients (P < .001) and in subgroup analysis of those 85 and older (P = .006). The preintervention group had less postoperative delirium compared to the postintervention group but it was not significant and there was no difference in length of stay between groups. Various explanations for the minimal impact of the protocol exist: small sample size, presence of other hospital initiatives to reduce pressure ulcer and delirium, and clinician's awareness of project planning that led to incorporating ideas prior to official implementation. Future research implementing this protocol in naïve and/or underperforming institutions may demonstrate a greater effect. Larger sample size as well as implementation in other surgical fields may reveal a significant impact. However, if additional study does not reveal a meaningful impact of a comprehensive geriatric assessment for surgical patients, then consideration must be made regarding unrecognized factors in surgical care for older adults or perhaps that factors cannot be mitigated in older adults because they are intrinsically a higher surgical risk.

This comprehensive clinical guideline addresses pain issues that arise in care of patients commonly seen in post-acute and long-term care settings, including very old and frail individuals with multiple chronic medical and psychiatric conditions, short-stay patients needing posthospitalization care, and younger adults with chronic diseases and disabilities. Its sections proceed along the steps of the clinical process, and hence include pain definition, recognition, and assessment; diagnosis and cause-effect analysis; identification of care objectives; selection of interventions from the wide range or potential options, including a discussion of appropriate and rational use of opioids; and monitoring of the progress and outcomes of management decisions. The guideline emphasizes treating pain in the context of each patient's overall condition and not as a separate issue. It includes discussion of such challenging issues as responsibilities and capabilities of the staff and practitioners, what to do when patients persistently experience high pain levels despite substantial doses of analgesics, and how best to address the expectations of relevant regulations and surveyor guidelines. By including numerous hypertext links within the document, the CPG facilitates finding related information in different sections as well as external references and resources that provide additional support.

To provide policy recommendations for managing Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) in skilled nursing facilities, a group of certified medical directors from several facilities in New York state with experience managing the disease used e-mail, phone, and video conferencing to develop consensus recommendations. The resulting document provides recommendations on screening, protection of staff, screening of residents, management of Coronavirus 19 positive and presumed positive cases, communication during an outbreak, management of admissions and readmissions, and providing emotional support for staff. These consensus guidelines have been endorsed by the Executive Board of the New York Medical Directors Association and the Board of the Metropolitan Area Geriatrics Society.

Introduction/UNASSIGNED:Patients often transition between health care settings, such as office to hospital, hospital to nursing facility, or hospital to home. When a patient is admitted, it is imperative that clinicians review prior medication lists along with new orders to reconcile any discrepancies. This process should occur in a standardized manner to reduce medication errors leading to adverse events and patient harm. Methods/UNASSIGNED:We developed this program as an instructional method via PowerPoint to teach the importance of accurate medication reconciliation. We implemented the program in multiple grand rounds settings with students, trainees, and attending physicians in internal medicine and surgery. Approximately 150 learners attended the sessions. We assessed learners with pre/post self-efficacy assessment (74 completed precourse surveys, 39 completed posttest surveys, and 49 participated in the audience response during the course) and multiple-choice knowledge questions. Results/UNASSIGNED:The results of the postcourse knowledge assessment demonstrated improvement in every question we tested, with two of the improvements reaching statistical significance. We found that 30% of attendees were not at all confident or only somewhat confident in conducting an appropriate medication reconciliation on admission to the hospital. Additionally, 82% of respondents reported that the presentation was likely or extremely likely to improve their medication reconciliation efforts. Discussion/UNASSIGNED:Our educational program was successful in improving learners' knowledge in every question we tested; however, only two of the improvements were statistically significant. Our program is an organized and effective tool for teaching effective and reliable medication reconciliation.

Objective: Geriatricians are skilled in the recognition of asymptomatic and atypical presentations that occur in the elderly and provide comprehensive medication management including recognizing adverse drug events, reducing polypharmacy, and de-prescribing. However, despite the increasing average age of the U.S. population, with the number of individuals above 65 years old predicted to increase 55% by 2030, the geriatric workforce capacity in the United States has actually decreased from 10,270 in 2000 to 8,502 in 2010. Method: We describe physiologic changes in older adults, historical trends in geriatric training, and propose solutions for this looming crisis. Results: Many factors are responsible for the shortage of skilled geriatric providers. Discussion: We discuss the historical context of the lack of geriatricians including changes to the training system, describe the impact of expert geriatric care on patient care and health system outcomes, and propose methods to improve recruitment and retention for geriatric medicine.

OBJECTIVE:To describe the current landscape of palliative care (PC) in nursing homes (NHs) in New York State (NYS). MEASUREMENTS/METHODS:A statewide survey was completed by 149 respondents who named 61 different NHs as their workplace. Questions were related to presence, type, and composition of PC programs; perceptions of PC; barriers to implementing PC; and qualifying medical conditions. RESULTS:Hospice is less available than palliative or comfort care programs, with three-fourths of NYS NH responded providing a PC program. In general, medical directors and physicians were more similar in perspective about the role/impact of PC compared to nursing and others. There was general agreement about the positive impact and role of PC in the NH. Funding and staffing were recognized as barriers to implementing PC. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:There is growing penetration of PC programs in NH facilities in NYS, with good perception of the appropriate utilization of PC programs. Financial reimbursement and staffing are barriers to providing PC in the NH and need to be addressed by the health-care system.

This project aimed to improve pain management through clinician education, updated assessment tools, computer resources, and improved ordering and delivery systems. Clinicians were surveyed and results analyzed using Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney testing and χ² testing. Prescribing patterns were evaluated by comparing proportions of prescription orders and dose intervals. Cochran-Armitage Trend Test was used for linear trends in proportion of prescription orders over time. Knowledge scores improved significantly for nurses ( P = .004) and nurse practitioners/physician assistants ( P < .0001). Patient surveys showed a reduction in the percentage of patients dissatisfied with pain control. There was a decrease of 3.6% in intramuscular orders of opioids ( P < .0001). A significant reduction was found in the percentage of orders of potentially high initial doses of opioids of hydromorphone and morphine after implementing an electronic alert. This project demonstrates that a comprehensive educational strategy with improved assessment tools, clinical resources, and educational programming can have a significant impact on pain management.

BACKGROUND:Malignant bowel obstruction is a highly symptomatic, often recurrent, and sometimes refractory condition in patients with intra-abdominal tumor burden. Gastro-intestinal symptoms and function may improve with anti-inflammatory, anti-secretory, and prokinetic/anti-nausea combination medical therapy. OBJECTIVE:To describe the effect of octreotide, metoclopramide, and dexamethasone in combination on symptom burden and bowel function in patients with malignant bowel obstruction and dysfunction. DESIGN/METHODS:A retrospective case series of patients with malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) and malignant bowel dysfunction (MBD) treated by a palliative care consultation service with octreotide, metoclopramide, and dexamethasone. Outcomes measures were nausea, pain, and time to resumption of oral intake. RESULTS:12 cases with MBO, 11 had moderate/severe nausea on presentation. 100% of these had improvement in nausea by treatment day #1. 100% of patients with moderate/severe pain improved to tolerable level by treatment day #1. The median time to resumption of oral intake was 2 days (range 1-6 days) in the 8 cases with evaluable data. Of 7 cases with MBD, 6 had For patients with malignant bowel dysfunction, of those with moderate/severe nausea. 5 of 6 had subjective improvement by day#1. Moderate/severe pain improved to tolerable levels in 5/6 by day #1. Of the 4 cases with evaluable data on resumption of PO intake, time to resume PO ranged from 1-4 days. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Combination medical therapy may provide rapid improvement in symptoms associated with malignant bowel obstruction and dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE:To describe rates and policies in U.S. Nursing Homes (NH) related to palliative care, comfort care, and hospice care based on a nationwide survey of directors of nursing. MEASUREMENTS/METHODS:A national survey was distributed online and was completed by 316 directors of nursing of NHs (11% response rate). The directors of nursing were asked about availability and policies in their facilities. Specifically, questions were related to policies, referral patterns, discussion about such care, and types of medical conditions qualifying for such services. RESULTS:Hospice is significantly more available than palliative or comfort care programs; also, for-profit facilities, compared to non-profits, are significantly more likely to have palliative care programs and medical directors for palliative care. Social workers and nurses were most likely to suggest palliative type programs. Only 42% of facilities with palliative program provide consultation by a palliative certified physician. Residents with non-healing pressure ulcers, frequent hospitalizations, or severe/uncontrolled pain or non-pain symptoms were less likely to be referred. CONCLUSIONS:There is limited availability of palliative type programs in NH facilities and underutilization in those NH with programs.

OBJECTIVE:To identify nursing home (NH) standards related to sexual activity and sexual relationships for residents through a nationwide survey of directors of nursing (DONs). METHODS:A national survey was distributed online and was completed by 366 DONs of skilled nursing facilities. The DONs answered questions concerning policies and experiences related to sexual activities of their residents including types of resident sexual activity they have encountered, perceptions about residents with dementia engaging in sexual activity, and policies pertaining to sexual activity including masturbation. RESULTS:The results of the survey demonstrated that the vast majority (71.2%) indicated that there had been issues regarding residents' sexual activities in their facilities with over one-half (58%) of the DONs reporting situations of resident with resident sexual activity and 60% with situations of resident masturbation. More than one-half (56.6%) require a family or designated representative to approve sexual activity for a cognitively impaired resident. For a cognitively intact resident, 12.4% of facilities still require family or designated representative to approve sexual activity. However, despite the prevalence of sexual activity, the majority of NHs (63.4%) actually do not have policies dealing with resident sexual activity. Of the NHs with policies, 58.6% have written policies in place, with 11.2% requiring a physician order to allow sexual activity and 9.5% requiring a physician order to restrict sexual activity. CONCLUSIONS:Issues related to sexual activity in NH residents are quite prevalent, however, the rates of policies related to sexual activity are low and the policies and restrictions are not uniform. Our study suggests nursing homes should have a clear policy addressing resident sexual activity. It would be beneficial for such a policy to be communicated to residents and their families as part of an admission package instead of waiting for sexual interest to be noticed. This would enable residents to engage in sexual activity with understanding and support rather than hiding.