What Matters Most: An Example of Implementing Patient Priorities Care.

Area of Science:

• Geriatrics and Gerontology
• Patient-Centered Care
• Pharmacology

Background:

• The Age-Friendly Health System 4Ms Framework (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, Mobility) aims to optimize care for older adults.
• Patient Priorities Care (PPC) aligns healthcare decisions with patient goals, especially valuable for those with multiple chronic conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To illustrate the application of the 4Ms Framework combined with PPC in a case study of an older female patient with multiple chronic conditions.
• To demonstrate how to identify patient goals and address barriers to achieving them within a clinical setting.

Main Methods:

• Adopted the 4Ms Framework and PPC approach for a patient with multiple chronic conditions.
• Identified patient priorities: spending time with grandchildren, community volunteering, and maintaining mobility.
• Evaluated interventions for fatigue, a key barrier, through collaborative decision-making with the patient.

Main Results:

• Fatigue was identified as the primary barrier to the patient achieving her stated goals.
• Collaborative decision-making led to the selection and implementation of a fatigue-reduction intervention.
• The intervention's impact on the patient's ability to achieve her goals was assessed post-implementation.

Conclusions:

• The PPC approach effectively operationalizes patient-centered care by integrating patient priorities into clinical decision-making.
• Combining the 4Ms Framework with PPC enhances care for older adults with multiple chronic conditions.
• This case study highlights the importance of addressing patient-identified barriers to improve quality of life.