The Geriatrics in Primary Care Demonstration: Integrating Comprehensive Geriatric Care into the Medical Home: Preliminary Data

Abstract

Three thousand nine hundred thirty-one veterans aged 75 and older receive primary care (PC) in two large practices of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System. Cognitive and functional disabilities are endemic in this group, creating needs that predictably exceed available or appropriate resources. To address this problem, Geriatrics in Primary Care (GPC) embeds geriatric services directly into primary care. An on-site consulting geriatrician and geriatric nurse care manager work directly with PC colleagues in medicine, nursing, social work, pharmacy, and mental health within the VA medical home. This design delivers interdisciplinary geriatric care within PC that emphasizes comprehensive evaluations, care management, planned transitions, informed resource use, and a shift in care focus from multiple subspecialties to PC. Four hundred thirty-five veterans enrolled during the project's 4-year course. Complex, fragmented care was evident in a series of 50 individuals (aged 82 ± 7) enrolled during Months 1 to 6. The year before, these individuals made 372 medical or surgical subspecialty clinic visits (7.4 ± 9.8); 34% attended five or more subspecialty clinics, 48% had dementia, and 18% lacked family caregivers. During the first year after enrollment the mean number of subspecialty clinic visits declined significantly (4.7 ± 5.0, P = .01), whereas the number of PC-based visits remained stable (3.1 ± 1.5 and 3.3 ± 1.5, respectively, P = .50). Telephone contact by GPC (2.3 ± 2.0) and collaboration with PC clinicians replaced routine follow-up geriatric care. GPC facilitated planned transitions to rehabilitation centers (n = 5), home hospice (n = 2), dementia units (n = 3), and home care (n = 37). GPC provides efficient, comprehensive geriatric care and case management while preserving established relationships between patients and the PC team. Preliminary results suggest "care defragmentation," as reflected by a significant reduction in subspecialty clinic use. Model simplicity and flexibility facilitated ready implementation.