Program for Thursday May 13, 2021

Speaker: Peter A. Hollmann, MD
This session will help the attendee become aware of coding that is especially relevant to geriatrics health care professionals. Specific topics that will be addressed include: E/M (office and facility visit codes and Medicare Preventive Medicine codes) and overview to coding and billing for the geriatrics professional.  Learning Objectives: (1) describe basic coding principles; (2) discuss key Medicare payment rules; and (3) interpret how to relate these to practice management.

Sponsored by the Quality and Performance Measurement Committee and the Clinical Practice and Models of Care Committee 
Moderator: Heather E. Whitson, MD, MHS
The AGS Guiding Principles for the Care of Older Adults with Multimorbidity have been translated into a framework of Actions and accompanying Action Steps. This session stems from the framework and will cover recent developments in decision-making for older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs). Learning Objectives: (1) identify and communicate patients' health priorities; (2) develop strategies for stopping, starting, or continuing care based on health priorities, potential benefit vs harm and burden, and health trajectory; and (3) provide a framework for aligning decisions and care with patients, caregivers, and other clinicians with patients' health priorities and health trajectory.

Sponsored by the Research Committee  

Moderators: Shelly L.Gray, PharmD, MS & Susan Hardy, MD 
This session will present the latest peer-reviewed geriatrics research with questions and answers to follow.  Learning Objectives: (1) discuss new and original geriatrics research; (2) describe an emerging concept or new scientific focus in aging research; and (3) summarize the key findings of projects with relevance to care of older adults.
 

Chair: Chitra Hamilton, MD
Please join other fellows, faculty members, and leaders in geriatrics at the annual Fellows-in-Training meeting. This event is a unique opportunity to share and discuss ideas, past experiences, and future career plans while networking with colleagues and mentors from across the country.

This year, please join our virtual session to discuss popular career paths in geriatrics. We will be joined by experts to speak about their experience, as well as the challenges the pandemic has presented, in the following areas:

• Research: Sharon Brangman, MD, FACP, AGSF
• Home-Based Primary Care: Thomas Cudjoe, MD, MPH
• Education: Helen Fernandez, MD, MPH
• Long-Term Care: Mike Wasserman, MD

Sharon Brangman, MD, FACP, AGSF has been on the faculty at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York since October 1989. She is currently a Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of the Department of Geriatrics. She is the director of the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program and is director of the Upstate Center of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Brangman is also the Director of the Nappi Longevity Institute. Dr. Brangman received her undergraduate degree in biology from Syracuse University and her medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse in 1981. She completed residency training in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in The Bronx, New York, where she also completed fellowship training in geriatric medicine. Dr. Brangman is board certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine as well as hospice and palliative care. Dr. Brangman is a past president of the American Geriatrics Society and also served as chair of the board. In addition, she is a past president and chair of the board of the Association of Directors of Geriatrics Academic Programs.

Thomas Cudjoe, MD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University with many years of experience caring for patients in their homes. A Major in the Army Reserve Medical Corps, Dr. Cudjoe was deployed to the Urban Augmentation Medical Task Force last year and served at a New Jersey medical field station and then at University Hospital in Newark, NJ at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A skilled researcher with a background in the effects of social isolation in older adults, he plans to apply his recent Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists’ Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) award to studying social connections and health among older adults living in low-income housing communities. He earned his medical degree at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, completed residency at Howard University Hospital, and conducted a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at Johns Hopkins University.

Helen Fernandez, MD, MPH is Program Director of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Fellowship Program in New York City. In her many roles as an educator, Dr. Fernandez has disseminated her expertise nationally and internationally. Her presentations at multiple conferences—including the AGS Annual Scientific Meeting and the International Association of Medical Education—and her published work in such scholarly outlets as the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society demonstrate her dedication to the science of education. An AGS member since 1999, Dr. Fernandez has been a member of the AGS Education Committee since 2015, after serving on the Ethnogeriatrics Committee. In 2019, she became course director of the AGS/ ADGAP Leadership and Life Skills Longitudinal Course for Fellows. She is currently Chair of the ADGAP Fellowship Working Group and a member of the ADGAP Board. She is the 2021 recipient of the AGS Dennis W. Jahnigen Award, and in 2013, she won the Society’s Outstanding Mid-Career Clinician Educator of the Year award.

Michael Wasserman, MD is a speaker and long-term care consultant in Irvine, CA. Dr. Wasserman is a geriatrician who co-founded Senior Care of Colorado, one of the largest private primary care geriatrics practices in the country. Most recently he served as CEO for Rockport Healthcare Services, where he oversaw the largest nursing home chain in California. Prior to that he served as Executive Director, Care Continuum, for HSAG, the QIN-QIO in California.

Sponsored by the Teachers Section and the Education Committee   
Moderator: Rachel Miller, MD
This workshop presents a forum for teachers of geriatric education to share topics and materials of common interest, such as program development, curriculum, educational process and research in teaching and evaluation. Learning Objective: (1) describe and exchange geriatric education and teaching materials.

Moderator: Albert Siu, MD
Not infrequently, as healthcare professionals, we find ourselves asking the question “did this person really need to be admitted.” Often, we are finding the answer to be “no”. To explore other options when caring for patients, especially our older, more frail adults, we present an alternative model of care: home-based acute care.  Learning Objectives: (1) identify components of value-based care models and understand how these models lead to improved quality of care and better concordance with goals of care for older adults; (2) describe home-based acute care models, where they are applicable and how they may benefit older adults’ healthcare needs; and (3) describe practical approaches to implementation of home-based acute care models.

Developed by the Research Committee
Moderator:  John A. Batsis, MD, AGSF
Implementation of evidence-based interventions takes an average of 17 years to convert 14% of research findings into routine daily practice. Implementation science is the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based practices into routine practice and, hence, to improve the quality and effectiveness of health services.  Learning Objectives: (1) describe implementation science and its relevance in the context of current health policies and agenda as it pertains to older adults; (2) describe research designs that are unique to the field of implementation science; (3) review the key characteristics of designing and evaluating a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation study in the acute care setting; and (4) discuss the key characteristics of designing and evaluating a hybrid type 3 effectiveness-implementation study in the community care setting.

Sponsored by the Public Education Committee, Healthy Aging Special Interest Group, Pharmacy Section, Polypharmacy Special Interest Group

Moderator: Jeannie K. Lee, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, FASHP

This interprofessional symposium will present three unique non-pharmacologic areas of pain management (supplements, CBD, and integrative therapies) and explore culturally relevant communication strategies for patient interview and education.  Learning Objectives: (1) recognize common supplements and herbals used for pain management, and be able to assess for adverse effects and drug-disease and drug-drug interactions; (2) describe the data behind the current CBD craze, and be able to clearly advise older patients about risks and benefits in pain management; (3) utilize integrative approaches for pain management, including mindfulness and yoga, and know when to recommend these in clinical practice; and (4) develop neutral communication techniques when interviewing about the use of CIM in pain, and providing culturally-competent advice on risks and benefits to older patients.

Chair: Margaret I. Wallhagen, PhD, GNP-BC, AGSF
Join other nurses, nursing students, and AGS leaders at this special session.  The Section meeting will also include time for networking and presentations by AGS nursing leaders.  

Chair: Jeannie Lee, PharmD & Carla J. Bouwmeester, PharmD, MS, BCPS, BCGP
The Pharmacists Section meeting is an opportunity for pharmacist members of AGS to network, share about their AGS presentations, and discuss ways to collaborate. A conversation of leadership opportunities within AGS will also be a priority for the meeting. 

Chair: Dawn E. Butler, JD, MSW
Please join other social workers and social work students at the Social Workers Section session. This session will provide an opportunity to meet, network, and collaborate with other social workers in the field of aging.  The session will also include opportunities to discuss experiences and projects related to collaborations between health care systems and community-based organizations.  

Sponsored by the Research Committee  
Moderator: Peter A.Hollmann,MD
This session will present the top three research abstracts based on average score, quality, originality and methodology of research.  Learning Objectives: (1) describe emerging concepts or a new scientific focus in aging research; and (2) summarize the key findings of research with relevance to care of older adults.
 

Moderator: Judith L. Beizer, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP, AGSF

Learning Objectives: (1) define structural inequities, explain the drivers of it, and discuss solutions to dismantle structural inequities; (2) describe the development of COVID-19 vaccine authorization and guidance in the US; and (3) discuss how innovative approaches in overcoming barriers to COVID vaccine distribution among isolated older adults can inform preparations for future public health emergencies.

Sponsored by the Geriatric-Surgical Co-Management Programs Special Interest Group, the Ethics Committee, and the Clinical Practice and Models of Care Committee
Moderator: Sarah A. Wingfield, MD
This session will provide a roadmap for surgical decision making for health care providers caring for older adults in the perioperative period. Learning Objectives: (1) recognize the importance of performing a preoperative cognitive assessment and articulate the impact this assessment has on determining a patient’s capacity to consent for surgery; (2) discuss the essential components of geriatric perioperative risk assessment; (3) elicit patient goals and preferences surrounding operative and non-operative treatment options; and (4) use the BC/WC framework as a tool to facilitate shared decision making.
 

Moderator: Christine K. Bradway, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, AGSF

Benign urologic conditions (BUCs)—including urinary tract infections, urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome, conditions associated with lower urinary tract symptoms (e.g., urinary incontinence, frequency, urgency, nocturia), and urinary stone disease (USD)—are common.  Learning Objectives: (1) discuss the role that BUCs may play in development of obesity, diabetes, depression, and hypertension; and (2) explore the relationship between toileting behaviors and UI in women with implications for bladder health. 

Moderator:  Reena Karani, MD, MHPE 

This session will present the latest peer-reviewed geriatrics research with questions and answers to follow.  Learning Objectives: (1) discuss new and original geriatrics research; (2) describe an emerging concept or new scientific focus in aging research; and (3) summarize the key findings of projects with relevance to care of older adults.

Moderator: Mary E. Tinetti, MD
Patient Priorities Care (PPC) aims to align the healthcare of older adults with multiple conditions with their health priorities (i.e. specific health outcomes goals and care preferences) and preparing clinicians to translate these priorities into clinical decisions. Learning Objectives: (1) describe the steps involved in identifying patients’ health priorities (health outcome goals and healthcare preferences); (2) review the steps and strategies that can be used in patient priorities aligned decision-making; and (3) gain preliminary hands-on experience with what the Patient Priorities Care approach entails.
 

Developed by the Pharmacists Section and the Polypharmacy Special Interest Group
Moderator: Jeannie K. Lee, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, FASHP
The purpose of this symposium is to educate the audience and summarize the changes over the past year in pharmacotherapy. The speakers will examine information regarding newly approved medications, as well as dietary and herbal supplements. Learning Objectives: (1) communicate the indication for use, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, dosing, safety, and drug interactions for newly approved medications; (2) compare potential advantages and disadvantages of incorporating new medications into clinical practice; (3) explain the potential uses, mechanism of action, dosing, safety, and drug/supplement interactions for select dietary and herbal supplements; and (4) evaluate the potential risks and benefits of dietary supplement use in older adults.

Sponsored by the National Institute on Aging for new and early stage researchers in cooperation with the AGS Research Committee 
Moderator: Marie A. Bernard, MD
The symposium is intended for investigators with current research training or career development awards, including “T,” “F,” or “K” funding, or GEMSSTARs.  It is also intended for individuals who are interested in learning about these types of grant opportunities. The session targets the needs of new and early career investigators by providing an overview of NIA’s extramural research programs and initiatives, including a focus on emerging opportunities across NIA for Alzheimer’s and related dementias research. Funding and training opportunities, the Center for Scientific Review grants review process, and experiences of an early career researcher will also be featured. Learning Objectives: (1) describe the NIA mission and extramural divisions supporting early stage investigators in clinical, biomedical, neuroscience, and behavioral and social research; (2) discuss recent policy changes which affect the funding environment; and (3) identify NIA’s resources for research training and grant application.

Moderator: Thomas E. Finucane, MD

This symposium will highlight evidence about drug and nondrug management of T2D, with emphasis on new evidence that strengthens the observation that treatment to achieve strict, target based glycemic control in T2D is a mistaken strategy with particular harm in older adults.  Learning Objectives: (1) incorporate the latest clinical research on drug management of T2D into existing treatment strategies; (2) describe the role of nondrug treatments; and (3) recognize the effectiveness of the drug industry and the diabetes enterprise in promoting profitable treatment strategies.