Washington, DC –
In partnership with The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF), the Council of Medical
Specialty Societies (CMSS) has awarded grants to six specialty societies to advance age friendly care in outpatient specialty and subspecialty medicine. The funding will support societies’ efforts to develop targeted resources and promote adoption of the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms Framework—What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility—into routine practice.
Through these awards, six societies will develop 4Ms implementation guidance for their specialties, partnering with approximately 40 specialty practices to integrate the 4Ms into routine outpatient practice through the development of specialty-specific guidance on Age-Friendly Health Systems for clinician training, education, and practice.
“The millions of older adults who visit specialists in outpatient settings for surgery, cancer care or medical treatment deserve evidence-based age-friendly care aligned with what matters to them,” said Rani E. Snyder, MPA, President of The John A. Hartford Foundation. “We thank CMSS and these participating specialty societies for their commitment to implementing the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms Framework to help ensure that wherever older adults receive care, it is age-friendly.”
These awards are the result of a competitive grant program administered by CMSS and funded by JAHF. Proposals were reviewed by an external advisory committee comprised of a diverse group of national experts in age-friendly care, geriatrics, chronic disease and practice improvement.
Congratulations to the following grant recipients:
American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Empowering Patients Through Age-Friendly ENT: Implementation of the 4Ms Framework
The AAO-HNSF will develop, disseminate, implement, and evaluate tailored agefriendly ENT tools based on the 4Ms Framework. AAO-HNS’s innovative approach engages the patient directly by linking them to resources and a pre-visit checklist, which includes such patient priorities as hearing, dizziness, and falls, for completion and use during their visit.
American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Incorporating Age-Friendly Approaches into Rheumatology Care
ACR will lead a coordinated implementation initiative to develop, refine, and evaluate 4Ms workflows and tools across diverse ambulatory practices. The activities include development of a Rheumatology Age-Friendly 4Ms Implementation Guide focused on older adults with rheumatic diseases and geriatric syndromes.
American College of Surgeons (ACS) Integrating the Age-Friendly 4Ms into Ambulatory Surgery
Building on their inpatient surgery experience, ACS will implement Age-Friendly 4Ms processes in ambulatory surgery through the development of foundational tools and an implementation guide that ambulatory surgical teams can use to deliver better age-friendly care for older adults undergoing ambulatory surgery.
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Bridging Guidelines to Practice: An Age-Friendly Learning Collaborative for Geriatric Oncology
ASCO will bridge the gap between geriatric oncology guidelines and real-world practice by launching a Learning Collaborative that adapts the Age-Friendly Health Systems’ 4Ms framework specifically for cancer care.
American Urological Association (AUA) Expanding Age-Friendly Approaches to Urology Care
AUA’s project will facilitate implementation of the 4Ms framework and develop and disseminate urology-specific resources and educational materials aimed at older adults undergoing treatment for such conditions as prostate cancer and urinary incontinence to advance age-friendly care across.
Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Implementation of the Evidence-Based 4Ms Framework in Vascular Ambulatory Care
SVS will lead a multi-site collaborative effort to design, test, and refine a vascularspecific 4Ms implementation model that embeds these elements into clinical workflow to ensure implementation and evaluation of structured 4Ms screening for older adults living with vascular conditions and multiple chronic conditions.
CMSS will serve as a coordinating center to monitor and promote cross-specialty learning, improvement, and collaboration on implementing the 4Ms. CMSS will establish and support a learning community for awardees to share what they are learning with each other. Furthermore, CMSS will share best practices and resources that emerge from the grant program to the broader community of specialists in CMSS through its Learning Center, Annual Meeting, and derivative resources summarizing project learnings and innovations. This work will be done in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).
“We’re grateful to The John A. Hartford Foundation for their partnership in ensuring that older adults receive outpatient specialty care that truly addresses their unique needs—care that honors their priorities and addresses the complex interplay of medications, cognitive health, and mobility,” said Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, MACP, CEO of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies. “By bringing together leading specialty societies to adapt the 4Ms Framework for their disciplines, we’re building a collaborative that can transform how specialists approach care for aging patients across the country.”
Funding Acknowledgement:
The Expanding Age-Friendly Approaches to Specialty Ambulatory Care project is supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation through a grant of $1,500,000 to the Council of Medical Specialty Societies. The John A. Hartford Foundation, based in New York City, is a private, nonpartisan, national philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults. The leader in the field of aging and health, the foundation has three areas of emphasis: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregivers, and improving serious illness and end-of-life care.
About CMSS:
The Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) is a coalition of more than 50 specialty societies representing nearly 1 million physicians across the house of medicine. CMSS advances the expertise and collective voice of specialty societies and the patients they serve to drive meaningful changes in the future of healthcare. www.cmss.org
Media Contacts:
CMSS: Julia Peterson, Chief Operating Officer, jpeterson@cmss.org
JAHF: Marcus Escobedo, Vice President, Communications & Sr. Program Officer, marcus.escobedo@johnahartford.org