Melinda Martin-Khan

The Diagnostic Accuracy of Telegeriatrics for the Diagnosis of Dementia via Video Conferencing

INTRODUCTION The suitability of video conferencing (VC) technology for clinical purposes relevant to geriatric medicine is still being established. This project aimed to determine the validity of the diagnosis of dementia via VC. METHODS This was a multisite, noninferiority, prospective cohort study. Patients, aged 50 years and older, referred by their primary care physician for cognitive assessment, were assessed at 4 memory disorder clinics. All patients were assessed independently by 2 specialist physicians. They were allocated one face-to-face (FTF) assessment (Reference standard--usual clinical practice) and an additional assessment (either usual FTF assessment or a VC assessment) on the same day. Each specialist physician had access to the patient chart and the results of a battery of standardized cognitive assessments administered FTF by the clinic nurse. Percentage agreement (P(0)) and the weighted kappa statistic with linear weight (K(w)) were used to assess inter-rater reliability across the 2 study groups on the diagnosis of dementia (cognition normal, impaired, or demented). RESULTS The 205 patients were allocated to group: Videoconference (n = 100) or Standard practice (n = 105); 106 were men. The average age was 76 (SD 9, 51-95) and the average Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination Score was 23.9 (SD 4.7, 9-30). Agreement for the Videoconference group (P(0)= 0.71; K(w) = 0.52; P < .0001) and agreement for the Standard Practice group (P(0)= 0.70; K(w) = 0.50; P < .0001) were both statistically significant (P < .05). The summary kappa statistic of 0.51 (P = .84) indicated that VC was not inferior to FTF assessment. CONCLUSIONS Previous studies have shown that preliminary standardized assessment tools can be reliably administered and scored via VC. This study focused on the geriatric assessment component of the interview (interpretation of standardized assessments, taking a history and formulating a diagnosis by medical specialist) and identified high levels of agreement for diagnosing dementia. A model of service incorporating either local or remote administered standardized assessments, and remote specialist assessment, is a reliable process for enabling the diagnosis of dementia for isolated older adults.

Development of quality indicators for monitoring outcomes of frail elderly hospitalised in acute care health settings: Study Protocol

BackgroundFrail older people admitted to acute care hospitals are at risk of a range of adverse outcomes, including geriatric syndromes, although targeted care strategies can improve health outcomes for these patients. It is therefore important to assess inter-hospital variation in performance in order to plan and resource improvement programs.Clinical quality outcome indicators provide a mechanism for identifying variation in performance over time and between hospitals, however to date there has been no routine use of such indicators in acute care settings.A barrier to using quality indicators is lack of access to routinely collected clinical data. The interRAI Acute Care (AC) assessment system supports comprehensive geriatric assessment of older people within routine daily practice in hospital and includes process and outcome data pertaining to geriatric syndromes.This paper reports the study protocol for the development of aged care quality indicators for acute care hospitals.Methods/DesignThe study will be conducted in three phases:1.Development of a preliminary inclusive set of quality indicators set based on a literature review and expert panel consultation,2.A prospective field study including recruitment of 480 patients aged 70 years or older across 9 Australian hospitals. Each patient will be assessed on admission and discharge using the interRAI AC, and will undergo daily monitoring to observe outcomes. Medical records will be independently audited, and3.Analysis and compilation of a definitive quality indicator set, including two anonymous voting rounds for quality indicator inclusion by the expert panel.DiscussionThe approach to quality indicators proposed in this protocol has four distinct advantages over previous efforts: the quality indicators focus on outcomes; they can be collected as part of a routinely applied clinical information and decision support system; the clinical data will be robust and will contribute to better understanding variations in hospital care of older patients; The quality indicators will have international relevance as they will be built on the interRAI assessment instrument, an internationally recognised clinical system.

Successes and failures in assessing cognitive function in older adults using video consultation

We investigated the level of agreement between specialists conducting a cognitive assessment via videoconference compared with a face-to-face assessment. The patient and doctor were linked via a videoconference system which was located within the same hospital. To assess inter-rater reliability, paired face-to-face assessments were also carried out. There were 42 subjects, who were aged over 50 years and who had not attended a memory disorder clinic in the previous 12 months. A battery of standardized cognitive assessments was performed by a trained clinic nurse, prior to the two assessments by separate specialists. The weighted kappa score for face-to-face inter-rater reliability was 0.53. The agreement between face-to-face and videoconferencing assessment was 0.63. The present study shows that the use of videoconferencing for cognitive assessment results in assessment outcomes similar to those from face-to-face assessment.

Barriers and enablers of health promotion, prevention and early intervention in primary care: Evidence to inform the Australian national dementia strategy

A comprehensive literature review was undertaken to: (i) identify and summarise the research evidence regarding barriers and enablers of health promotion, prevention and early intervention (PPEI) in primary care to reduce the risk of chronic disease in the older population; and (ii) use this evidence to make recommendations to inform the Australian national dementia prevention strategy around the translation of evidence‐based care into practice. PPEI activities in primary care have the potential to not only reduce the prevalence and impact of a number of chronic diseases, but may also prevent or slow the onset of dementia given the apparent overlap in risk factors. While sizeable gaps exist regarding the most effective ways to promote the adoption of these activities, limited evidence suggests that, to be effective, PPEI activities should be quick and easy to administer, have a sound rationale and be readily incorporated into existing work processes.

A systematic review of the reliability of screening for cognitive impairment in older adults by use of standardised assessment tools administered via the telephone

We conducted a systematic review to identify the extent to which the process of screening for cognitive impairment in older adults has been validated for administration by telephone. A search of electronic databases and a handsearch of relevant journals and reference lists were carried out for studies published between 1966 and 2008. The database search identified 411 studies and handsearching found another seven. Fourteen studies were finally identified as relevant to the review: three concerned a modified telephone version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE); five concerned the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status; one study tested a telephone-administered Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire; four studies tested the validity of newly developed tools; and the remaining study considered the Confusion Assessment Method as a means of diagnosing delirium. The quality of the reference standard varied among the papers reviewed. The limited number of high quality studies with suitable reference standards makes it difficult to recommend a specific tool which should be used to assess the cognition of older adults by telephone. In advance of further studies, the 22-item MMSE is simple to administer and was shown to correlate well with the face-to-face MMSE. It appears to be a useful technique for telephone screening for cognitive impairment or delirium, if used in conjunction with the Delirium Symptom Interview.

A survey of the Queensland healthcare workforce: attitudes towards dementia care and training

BackgroundPositive attitudes of healthcare staff towards people with dementia promote higher quality care, although little is known about important factors that underlie positive attitudes. Key aims of this project were to explore the relationships between staff attitudes towards dementia, self-confidence in caring for people with dementia, experience and dementia education and training.MethodsA brief online survey was developed and widely distributed to registered nurses and allied health professionals working in Queensland in 2012. Regression analyses were performed to identify important predictors of self-confidence in caring for people with dementia and positive attitudes towards people with dementia.ResultsFive hundred and twenty-four surveys were completed by respondents working in a range of care settings across Queensland. Respondents were predominantly female (94.1%), and most were registered nurses (60%), aged between 41 and 60 years (65.6%). Around 40% regularly worked with people with dementia and high levels of self-confidence in caring for this population and positive attitudes towards people with dementia were reported. The majority of respondents (67%) had participated in a dementia education/training activity in the past 12 months. More experience working with people with dementia predicted greater self-confidence while recent participation in a dementia education/training and higher self-confidence in caring for a person with dementia significantly predicted more positive attitudes towards people with dementia.ConclusionsThese results confirm the importance of self-confidence and dementia education in fostering positive attitudes and care practices towards people with dementia. Our results also indicate that the demand for ongoing dementia education is high amongst health care workers and it is recommended that regular dementia education/ training be provided and promoted for all healthcare personnel who work with people with dementia.

What is the evidence to guide best practice for the management of older people with cognitive impairment presenting to emergency departments? a systematic review

The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review of research-based studies to identify practices designed to meet the specific care needs of older cognitively impaired patients in emergency departments (ED). A systematic literature review of studies was completed using PRIMSA methodology. The search criteria included articles from both emergency and acute care settings. A total of 944 articles were screened, and a total of 43 articles were identified as eligible. The review found a number of intervention studies to improve quality of care for older persons with cognitive impairment carried out or commenced in emergency settings, including interventions to improve cognitive impairment recognition (n = 9) and clinical approaches to reduce falls (n = 1) and both delirium incidence and prevalence (n = 2). Relevant studies carried out in acute care settings regarding cognitive impairment recognition (n = 4) and primary and secondary prevention of delirium (n = 18) and intervention studies that reduced the prescription of deliriogenic drugs (n = 1), reduced behavioral symptoms and discomfort (n = 7), and improved nutritional intake (n = 1) in hospitalized older persons with dementia were also identified. There is limited research available that reports interventions that improve the quality of care of older ED patients with cognitive impairment. Although this review found evidence obtained from the acute care setting, additional research is needed to identify whether these interventions are beneficial in fast-paced emergency settings.

Physical examination and diagnosis of dementia for video consultation

ditions were performed with Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks tests. Given the directional hypothesis, onesided Po.05 was considered statistically significant. There was no significant difference between stride time before and after galantamine treatment within walking conditions (P 5.09 for single tasking and P 5.77 for dualtasking). Stride time was significantly longer under dualtasking than walking alone before treatment (P 5.01) but not after (P 5.09). There were no significant gait changes at all in the no-treatment control group (P 5.74). MMSE scores of subjects with AD were significantly lower (P 5.02). Mean number of enumerated digits during the backward-counting task did not differ significantly between singleand dual-tasking conditions or between the treatment and no-treatment groups (P 5.50 for control group and P 5.62 and P 5 1.00 before and after galantamine, respectively, for the group with AD) (Table 1). These results confirm that subjects with AD and no galantamine treatment showed a significant increase in stride time under dual-task conditions. This change in gait parameters is a marker of an inability to appropriately adapt allocation of attention between gait and a walking-associated attention-demanding task with a resulting greater risk of falling. In addition, this report is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate improvement in gait performance after treatment with galantamine. The absence of a significant increase in stride time while dual-tasking in subjects with AD treated with galantamine suggests a galantamine-associated enhancement of the ability to adapt gait patterns to unexpected situations. If these open-label data can be reproduced and confirmed in a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study design, patients with AD with greater falls risk might benefit from galantamine treatment.

Methodology for developing quality indicators for the care of older people in the Emergency Department

BackgroundCompared with younger people, older people have a higher risk of adverse health outcomes when presenting to emergency departments. As the population ages, older people will make up an increasing proportion of the emergency department population. Therefore it is timely that consideration be given to the quality of care received by older persons in emergency departments, and to consideration of those older people with special needs. Particular attention will be focused on important groups of older people, such as patients with cognitive impairment, residents of long term care and patients with palliative care needs. This project will develop a suite of quality indicators focused on the care of older persons in the emergency department.Methods/designFollowing input from an expert panel, an initial set of structural, process, and outcome indicators will be developed based on thorough systematic search in the scientific literature. All initial indicators will be tested in eight emergency departments for their validity and feasibility. Results of the data from the field studies will be presented to the expert panel at a second meeting. A suite of Quality Indicators for the older emergency department population will be finalised following a formal voting process.DiscussionThe predicted burgeoning in the number of older persons presenting to emergency departments combined with the recognised quality deficiencies in emergency department care delivery to this population, highlight the need for a quality framework for the care of older persons in emergency departments. Additionally, high quality of care is associated with improved survival & health outcomes of elderly patients. The development of well-selected, validated and economical quality indicators will allow appropriate targeting of resources (financial, education or quality management) to improve quality in areas with maximum potential for improvement.

Telehealth for nursing homes: the utilization of specialist services for residential care.

Specialist care consultations were identified by two research nurses using documentation in patient records, appointment diaries, electronic billing services and on-site observations at a 441-bed long term care facility. Over a six-month period there were 3333 consultations (a rate of 1511 consultations per year per 100 beds). Most consultations were for general practice (n = 2589, 78%); these consultations were mainly on site (99%), with only 27 taking place off site. There were 744 consultations for specialities other than general practice. A total of 146 events related to an emergency or unplanned hospital admission. The remaining medical consultations (n = 598, 18%) related to 23 medical specialities. The largest number of consultations were for surgery (n = 106), podiatry (n = 100), nursing services including wound care (n = 74), imaging (n = 41) and ophthalmology (n = 40). Many services which are currently being provided on site to metropolitan long-term care facilities could be provided by telehealth in both urban and rural facilities.