Interprofessional Intervention to Improve Geriatric Consultation Timing on an Acute Medical Service

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Hospitalist services often face challenges in optimizing geriatric consultations for elderly patients.
• Timely and appropriate geriatric consultations are crucial for improving health outcomes in older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an interprofessional intervention on the utilization and timeliness of geriatric consultations within a hospitalist service.

Main Methods:

• A difference-in-differences (DID) analysis was employed in a 1,000-bed U.S. academic medical center.
• The intervention involved geriatricians attending multidisciplinary rounds twice weekly on select hospitalist teams.
• Data included 7,038 patients aged 60 and older, comparing intervention teams with control teams.

Main Results:

• The intervention significantly increased the percentage of hospitalizations receiving a geriatric consultation (DID = 2.35% absolute percentage points).
• Patients on intervention teams experienced a reduction in the time to receive a geriatric consultation (DID = 3.61 fewer days).

Conclusions:

• An interprofessional intervention focused on hospitalist ordering practices effectively increased the use and reduced the time to geriatric consultations.
• This collaborative model demonstrates success, though future adaptations may be needed to optimize the use of geriatric resources.