162 Hospitals and Physician Practices Earn Age-Friendly Health Systems Recognition

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is advancing a four-part framework of evidence-based care for Americans older than 65, recognizing 162 hospitals and physician practices for participating in the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, reports Health Leaders Media . "What's drawn health professionals to the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement is that it offers an organizing framework of evidence-based care that can be practiced reliably," said IHI Senior Director Leslie Pelton. "And it all starts with knowing and acting on what matters to the older adult." Knowing what matters "gets you to services that offer value in the beneficiary's eyes," according to IHI's Kedar Mate. The second element of the framework is medication, while the third element is mentation benefits derived from treating delirium in the inpatient setting. "Delirium ... is extremely costly both on the human cost side with complication rates and lengths of stay, and the financial side," Mate noted. The fourth framework component is mobility, and Mate said "functional impairment is a big impediment in older adults' lives in achieving what matters to them, and it costs us a ton of money as a society."