Reduction of Rehospitalization with Addition of Geriatrics/Transitions of Care Consult Service.

Older adults are at high risk of rehospitalization after an acute event and at even higher risk of permanently losing an activity of daily living with each hospitalization. This is especially true in those with encephalopathy, delirium, dementia, falls, and failure to thrive. Although it is widely known that rehospitalization rates are higher in patients who discharge to skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, geriatrics consultations have not been shown to consistently decrease this risk.

Advance Care Planning Bundle: Using Technical and Adaptive Solutions to Promote Goal Concordant Care.

Background: Advance Care Planning (ACP) is critical to achieve goal-aligned care for patients. However, optimal implementation requires complex coordination and alignment across a healthcare system.

Measures: A survey of rapid response providers assessed usefulness of the ACP quality improvement bundle and perceptions of use and adherence.

Millennials Seeking Healthcare: Examining the Degree to Which Patients Utilize Online Resources.

Introduction: According to the 2020 U.S. Census, a Silver Tsunami is looming, with more than 75.

Interprofessional Medication Error Disclosure Training Using a Telehealth Consultation Simulation.

Health professions students must develop collaborative skills to disclose errors effectively and improve patient safety. We proposed that an interprofessional simulation using telehealth technology would provide medical and pharmacy students the opportunity to practice, develop, and grow in their confidence and skills of working collaboratively and disclosing medication errors. A three-phase interprofessional student simulation was developed.

Development of a Hybrid Simulated Patient Experience to Practice Care of the Dying Older Adult.

Introduction: Care of the dying older adult includes critical skills that emerging physicians should master but are not consistently taught. Simulation has been shown to be an excellent tool for teaching these skills in a standardized fashion. Simulation allows direct observation to assess and provide learner feedback.

Across the Continuum: How Inpatient Palliative Care Consultations Are Reported in Hospital Discharge Summaries.

Background: Inpatient Palliative Care (PC) consultations help develop a patient-centered and quality-of-life-focused plan of care for patients with serious illness. Discharge summaries (DSs) are an essential tool to maintain continuity of these care plans across multiple locations and providers.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of selected DSs of patients who received inpatient PC consultations at the University of Kansas Hospital from July 2011 to May 2015.

Palliative Care of Urologic Patients at End of Life.

This article focuses on the issues facing patients with advanced and terminal urologic illness, from the framework of care planning based on defining patient-specific and family-specific goals of care, to palliative management strategies for common symptoms and syndromes that these patients and their families experience. This article also focuses on the management of common urologic issues that may arise in the course of care for all patients at the end of life, as well as the impact of these conditions on caregivers.

Development of an ambulatory geriatrics knowledge examination for internal medicine residents.

Background: The number of older adults needing primary care exceeds the capacity of trained geriatricians to accommodate them. All physicians should have basic knowledge of optimal outpatient care of older adults to enhance the capacity of the system to serve this patient group. To date, there is no knowledge-assessment tool that focuses specifically on geriatric ambulatory care.

Transient impact of automated glomerular filtration rate reporting on drug dosing for hospitalized older adults with concealed renal insufficiency.

Background: Older adults with concealed renal insufficiency are at risk of medication dosing errors. It is not known whether automated estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) reporting is associated with reduced dosing errors in this population.

Objective: The goal of the present study was to examine the impact on prescribing patterns in older adults with concealed renal insufficiency for a variety of renally cleared medications before and after the addition of automated eGFR reporting.