Potentially Un-avoidable Hospitalizations in Dementia: an Inside Story
Year: 2018
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: People living with dementia (PWD) experience more hospitalizations and related adverse events than cognitively normal peers. N=30 caregivers (CGs) of PWDs recently hospitalized for an Ambulatory Care Sensitive Condition, (ACSC; N=23) or an acute event (N=7). We triangulated data from electronic medical records (EMR), CG interviews and CG/PWD measures, and evaluated accuracy of CGs’ knowledge of PWD’s medical conditions and medications, in search of potential preventability of hospitalizations. PWD mean age 82, majority had advanced dementia, and high comorbidity (mean Charlson 8). For all admissions, symptoms presented ambiguously and rapidly worsened to a critical state. CGs’ self-reported knowledge compared to EMR-defined medical conditions, medications, and chain of events were often discordant. The majority of ACSC admissions in PWDs may not be preventable without using dementia as an organizing principle of care, and conducting early ongoing conversations about goals of care that account for stage of dementia and burden of comorbidity.
Source: Innovation in Aging
Institution: University of Washington
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,977
OpenAlex ID: W2900418692