Establishing First Age-Friendly Health System Tele-Palliative Care Clinic – Facilitators, Challenges, Lessons Learned to Improve Care for Rural, Older Veterans.
Age Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) promote geriatric best practices to improve healthcare quality, minimize harms and support older adults' care preferences. AFHS-designated clinics consistently address the Geriatric 4Ms: Mentation, Mobility, Medication, and What Matters Most. The VA Eastern Colorad...
| Published in: | Inquiry (00469580) Vol. 62; pp. 1 - 14 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Sage Publications Inc.
7/8/2025
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=186527741&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 186527741 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 00469580 INQ jtl: Inquiry (00469580) issn: 00469580 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: 7/8/2025 vid: 62 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. place: Thousand Oaks, California artinfo: ui: 186527741 186527741 186527741 10.1177/00469580251352727 186527741 ppf: 1 ppct: 13 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Establishing First Age-Friendly Health System Tele-Palliative Care Clinic – Facilitators, Challenges, Lessons Learned to Improve Care for Rural, Older Veterans. aug: au: Hartz, Stephanie Garbin, Alexander McGuire, Courtney Steagall, Jill McCauliff, Jocelyn Nearing, Kathryn Allen affil: Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA sug: subj: Telemedicine Palliative Care Methods Quality Improvement Rural Health Services Veterans In Old Age Age Specific Care Human Aged Quality of Health Care Interprofessional Relations Program Implementation Travel Descriptive Statistics Colorado Race Factors Ethnic Groups Minority Groups Female White Persons Male Caregivers Psychosocial Aspects of Illness Severity of Illness United States Department of Veterans Affairs Gerontologic Care Aged: 65+ years Female Male ab: Age Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) promote geriatric best practices to improve healthcare quality, minimize harms and support older adults' care preferences. AFHS-designated clinics consistently address the Geriatric 4Ms: Mentation, Mobility, Medication, and What Matters Most. The VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System tele-Palliative Care clinic achieved AFHS Level 1 and 2 recognition in 2021, becoming the first AFHS-designated telemedicine clinic in the nation. An interprofessional team and older Veterans guided planning and implementation. Using existing staff and clinic workflows, we consistently addressed the Geriatric 4Ms during visits. Specific metrics include: (1) AFHS Level 1 and 2 recognition, (2) maintenance in addressing Geriatric 4Ms in tele-Palliative Care, (3) number of patients served, (4) travel-miles saved. FY23-24, we conducted 192 AFHS tele-Palliative Care visits, 81% with rural/highly rural Veterans. We served 108 unique patients (FY23:57; FY24:51; percent decrease = 10.5%). Compared to Colorado's Veteran population, Veterans from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds and women were underrepresented; older Veterans were overrepresented. In FY23/FY24, the majority of patients were White (82%/73%), not Hispanic/Latino (83%/73%), male (100%/98%), and ≥65 (90%/89%). All 4Ms were addressed for 86% (FY23) and 76% (FY24) of unique patients. AFHS tele-Palliative Care saved Veterans/caregivers 23 622 (FY23) and 18 632 (FY24) miles of travel. Congruent with AFHS, Palliative Care focuses on physical, emotional, and psychosocial aspects of serious illness. AFHS designation in a tele-Palliative Care clinic is novel nationally. We demonstrated that evidence-based care can be provided to every older adult, regardless of care modality, without expanding staff or changing clinical workflows. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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