Nurse-Inspired Think Tank Aims to Improve Geriatric Care

University of Pennsylvania nurses in May chaired a think tank, called Assuring High Value Care for Vulnerable Older Adults and their Caregivers: Maximizing the Contributions of Nurses, to discuss how to improve the U.S. health system for older adults with complex chronic conditions, reports Nurse.com . The University of Pennsylvania's Nancy A. Hodgson noted there are nursing care models that would do well in terms of value to address chronically ill older adults, but few are scaled into routine practice. She said such people are being increasingly cared for by relatives, who do not feel prepared to take on such responsibilities, compounded by a fragmented health system that lacks cross-provider communication. "I think nurses are there to pick up the pieces. We're there at every point of care for older adults," Hodgson noted. The think tank offered some geriatric care solutions, including seamless electronic health record systems that could communicate with multiple points of care, and leveraging technologies and innovations in other industries, such as wearables that interface with clinicians and mobile phone apps for easier beneficiary-provider communication. Hodgson stressed the importance of nurses being aware of policy changes focused on advancing care for people with chronic conditions. One example is the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic Care Act, which focuses on Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans and emphasizes telehealth and other options for providing coverage for people with chronic diseases.