Increasing Identification of Vulnerable Elderly

in the Community Utilizing the

Electronic Health Records

The goal of this project is to develop and evaluate and Electronic Health Record template that prompts Family and Community Medicine residents and faculty to identify geriatric conditions that put patient over 65 years of age at risk for death and functional decline.

Partners:

• Center for Healthy Communities, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin
• Community Care for the Elderly

Goals of the Program:

• Develop an electronic health record template to screen for geriatric conditions embedded with patient education and community resources including a condition specific tool for primary care assessment and management of patients identified with memory loss
• Pilot test the electronic health record with Family Medicine residency faculty physicians and seek content review by Geriatric and Internal Medicine faculty physicians
• Educate the residents and faculty physicians at Columbia St. Mary's Family and St. Joseph's Family and Community Medicine Residency Programs in the use of the template and implement the template at both sites
• Evaluate the use of the template and its impact on the care of vulnerable elderly patients

Project Period:

• July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2009

Current Activities:

• Identify and select appropriate screening and assessment tools for older adults in the primary care setting
• Develop a template for the electronic health record incorporating the screening and assessment tools
• Link the tools in the template to educational materials to support their use
• Identify community resources for problems identified in the assessment process
• Link identified problems in community resources specific for each practice

Future Plans:

• Pilot test the template on a sample of two faculty from each residency program
• Develop a check list to assess the faculty's use of the template
• Analyze the use of the template by the faculty

Funding Source:

• Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Program