Interdisciplinary, Team-Based, Patient-Centered Care Better for Older Patients, Too

INQRI teams have conducted several studies illustrating the benefits of an interdisciplinary, team-based, patient-centered approach to fall prevention, medication management, managing delirium in critically ill patients, and more.

Now, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that the same kind of approach can reduce adverse events and shorten hospital stays for older patients. The study compared the Mobile Acute Care of the Elderly service (MACE) provided by Mount Sinai Hospital with general medical service. MACE teams include a geriatrics attending physician, a geriatrics fellow, geriatrics nurse coordinator and social worker. They focus on frail elderly patients with acute illnesses and complex needs and work to ensure safe, seamless continuity of care from hospital to home. 

The study was conducted from November 2008 through August 2011. Researchers found that patients in MACE groups experienced fewer adverse events and had shorter hospital stays. In addition, Care Transition Scores, which provide patients' perspectives on quality of care during transition, were 7.4 percent higher in the MACE group.