Adherence to recommendations of inpatient geriatric consultation teams: a multicenter observational study

Mieke Deschodt,Anja Velghe,Anthony Jeuris,Eline Van Waerebeek,Johan Flamaing,Evie Gantois,Bastiaan Van Grootven

doi:10.1007/s41999-020-00397-w

Abstract

Key summary pointsAimWe evaluated the adherence to recommendations of inpatient geriatric consultation teams and the team and recommendation characteristics impacting the adherence rates.FindingsThe overall adherence rate to the recommendations was 69.7%. Adherence rate increased if recommendations were given to allied health professionals or by more experienced consultation teams and when fewer recommendations were given.MessageReplication is needed in an international multicenter study with a specific attention given to the quality of the recommendations and the follow-up by the teams.

Highlights

MethodsDue to demographic ageing, an increasing number of older people are being admitted to the hospital [1]
One such model is the inpatient geriatric consultation team (IGCT), a mobile multidisciplinary team of geriatric experts who give recommendations based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment to the care teams of non-geriatric wards upon their request [8]
Fourteen patients who were younger than 75 years or without primary outcome data were excluded from the analyses, resulting in an inclusion of 278 patients from 10 hospitals

Summary

Introduction

MethodsDue to demographic ageing, an increasing number of older people are being admitted to the hospital [1]. A majority of these older people suffer from multimorbidity, and functional, cognitive, and/or social needs that require specific attention [2, 3] For these frail older patients, admission to an acute geriatric ward with adapted infrastructure and a multidisciplinary team results in a higher quality of care, decreased risk for hospital associated disability, fewer hospital readmissions and institutionalizations, and a higher degree of survival [4,5,6]. The limited capacity of geriatric wards has resulted in the implementation of alternative care models for frail older patients in the hospital [7]. Authors hypothesized that the quality of the recommendations, the presence of multidisciplinary IGCT meetings, and systematic follow-up of recommendations impact the adherence rate [12, 13, 21]

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Conclusion