One Step at a Time: Improving Gait Speed Measurement in a Geriatric Medicine Clinic

(1) Background: Mobility assessment is a key component of the assessment of an older adult as a part of the Age-Friendly Health System (AFHS) "geriatric 4Ms" framework. Several validated tools for assessing mobility and estimating fall risk in older adults are available. However, they are often under-utilized in daily practice even in specialty geriatric medicine care settings. We aimed to increase formal mobility assessment with brief gait speed measurement in a geriatric medicine outpatient clinic using phased change interventions. (2) Methods: This quality improvement (QI) initiative was conducted in a single outpatient geriatric medicine clinic. All clinic attendees who could complete a gait speed measurement were eligible for inclusion. The outcome measure was the completion of a 4 m gait speed. Several change interventions were implemented on a phased basis using the Model for Improvement methodology during the period from December 2018 to March 2020. Statistical process control charts were used to record gait speed measurements and detect non-random shifts. (3) Results: During this QI initiative, 80 patients were seen, accounting for 142 clinic visits. In response to change interventions, gait speed measurement at clinic visits increased from a median of 25% of visits to 67% by March 2020. (4) Conclusions: Adopting an AFHS care model is an urgent and challenging task to improve the quality of care for older adults. This initiative details how to effectively incorporate a brief, validated assessment of mobility using gait speed measurement into every geriatric medicine outpatient visit and progresses implementation of the AFHS "geriatric 4Ms". Mobility assessment can aid in identifying older adults at increased fall risk.