Implementation of Hip Fracture Co-Management Program (AGS CoCare: Ortho®) in a Large Health System

Acute hip fracture is common and leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Co-management programs, such as American Geriatric Society (AGS) CoCare: Ortho®, that optimize perioperative care of older adults, have demonstrated improved outcomes. Yet there is substantial variation in hip fracture care nationally. Our objective was to describe the implementation of AGS CoCare: Ortho® across a large integrated health system.

Program implementation of four phases.

Large integrated health system.

One tertiary and three community hospitals.

The first two phases were communication and system-level planning. The communication phase consisted of getting health system leadership buy-in, creating an interdisciplinary steering committee, and building a business model. The planning phase consisted of choosing process and outcome measures, ensuring accurate and timely data collection, and creating standardized order sets and physician documentation.

The second two phases were hospital-level planning and implementation. The planning phase consisted of identifying sites and developing the co-management structure. The implementation phase consisted of identifying and engaging frontline staff, rolling out the program, optimizing workflow, and educating providers.

The program was implemented at four diverse sites. Major lessons learned included the need for an engaged steering committee to oversee the program; the importance of standardizing order sets and documentation; the utilization of hospitalists as co-managers; the benefit of developing and actively using a data dashboard; the challenge of ensuring wide uptake of education modules; and the need to take proactive steps to improve multidisciplinary communication. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1706-1713, 2020.