Program for Saturday May 10, 2025

Co-Chairs: Lauren Ferrante, MD, MHS & Una Makris, MD, MSc 

Medical and surgical subspecialists will provide updates on activities within their disciplines, thereby showcasing opportunities for specialists to advance a geriatrics agenda within their specialty societies and their institutions. In addition, we will discuss career development topics relevant to junior faculty pursuing aging research.   All medical and surgical subspecialists are encouraged to attend.  

Facilitators: Jason Karlawish, MD & Kyra O’Brien, MD

This interactive workshop will focus on answering your questions about imaging and blood-based diagnostic biomarkers for Alzheimer's and other common causes of dementia. The audience will be led through discussions of clinical cases highlighting the use and interpretation of imaging (MRI and PET), spinal fluid, and blood biomarkers in the evaluation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related causes of dementia. The audience will review imaging and blood biomarker findings and vote on their interpretation. Learning Objectives: (1) review biomarker studies and discuss their usage in the diagnosis of AD, vascular cognitive impairment, Lewy body disease, and Limbic-Predominant Age-Related TDP-43 Encephalopathy (LATE); (2) assess the utility of blood-based biomarkers in evaluating for early-stage AD.

Sponsored by the Home-Based Primary Care SIG, Dementia Care & Caregiver Support SIG, SGIM SIG

Moderator: Colleen Christmas, MD, FACP

This workshop focuses on the urgent and critical topic of firearm safety. We, as geriatric health care providers, have an essential role to play in providing evidence-based counseling about safe gun ownership and identifying older adults who may be at particular risk for perpetrated, self-directed, or accidental injury due to factors including social isolation, cognitive impairment, and physical/mental health problems. Learning Objectives: (1) recognize risks of suicide, assault, and violence from firearms for all household members; (2) comfortably and non-judgmentally ask patients/care partners about gun access and storage; (3) offer brief interventions and next steps for safe gun storage; (4) identify trusted resources for future reference. 

Moderator: Joseph Dixon, MD, MA

Making medical decisions on behalf of unrepresented older adults, who by definition lack medical decision-making capacity, an identifiable surrogate decision maker, and an advance directive, is likely to become increasingly common with demographic changes in the United States and remains a challenge in clinical practice. In order to assist AGS members in caring for unrepresented older adults, in 2024 the AGS Ethics Committee updated the 2017 “AGS Position Statement: Making Medical Treatment Decisions for Unbefriended Older Adults.” Learning Objectives: (1) discuss key findings from the updated position statement, including the rationale for changing the term “unbefriended” to “unrepresented”; (2) describe an ethical framework for decision-making on behalf of unrepresented older adults; (3) review findings from the literature on clinicians’ experiences in caring for unrepresented older adults.

Moderator: Cary Reid, MD, PhD

This symposium is designed to provide primary care practitioners with up-to-date, evidence-based information on pain management in older adults, including commonly encountered non-pain symptoms such as fatigue and anorexia. Learning Objectives: (1) review benefits and risks of non-opioid pharmacologic management of chronic pain in older adults; (2) review benefits and risks of opioid pharmacologic management of chronic pain in older adults; and (3) discuss management of non-pain symptoms.

Sponsored by the Research Committee

Moderator: TBD

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; (3) summarize the key findings of projects with relevance to care of older adults.

Speakers: Kenneth Covinsky, MD, MPH; Eric W. Widera, MD & Alexander K. Smith, MD, MS, MPH   

The Geriatric Literature Update is always one of the most popular sessions at the annual meeting. The session will focus on the year's most important published papers. Discussion includes the significance of findings and application to patient care.  Learning Objectives: (1) identify areas in clinical medicine where new strong evidence has been uncovered that should affect geriatric practice; (2) describe the results of a critical appraisal of this evidence; and (3) discuss clinical advances in caring for older adults from a review of approximately 30 peer-reviewed journals January-December 2024.

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS), in partnership with the American Federation for Aging Research Clinician-Scientists Trandisciplinary Aging Research Coordinating Center (AFAR Clin-STAR CC) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) are offering an in-person AGS/AFAR Clin-STAR Mentoring and Grantsmanship Workshop during the AGS 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting. This workshop will offer opportunities for networking, mentoring, insights from senior investigators, DEI efforts in research, and provide attendees with useful information on grantsmanship efforts through breakout discussions. This session is geared towards early career investigators but open to all. Lunch will be provided.

Moderator: Peter Hollmann, MD
 

Learning Objective: (1) discuss care management services, including what is new in 2025; (2) review advance care planning services, including what is new in 2025; (3) describe collaborative behavioral health and other services, including what is new in 2025.

Developed by the Research Committee  

Moderator: TBD

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; (3) summarize the key findings of projects with relevance to care of older adults.

Sponsored by the Teachers Section and the Education Committee   

Moderator:  TBD 

This session 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.

Sponsored by the Achieving Health Equity Among Diverse Older Adults SIG and the Elder Abuse SIG

Moderator: Lena Makaroun, MD, MS

Programs that integrate legal services into healthcare delivery, known as medical-legal partnerships, are an innovative intervention that health systems employ to address social and environmental issues facing patients. Learning Objectives: (1) describe what medical-legal partnerships are and how they can address health-related social needs to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities for older adults; (2) discuss the disconnect between advance care planning conducted by legal professionals and medical professionals, and identify ways to improve collaboration between these fields; (3) determine how Geriatric Medicine professional participation in a multidisciplinary team may result in improved secondary prevention of elder mistreatment through use of practical interventions; (4) model how different kinds of multidisciplinary partnerships and collaborations can create synergy to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of care delivery.

This session will present key findings from the joint statement related to the assessment of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) risk in adults over age 75 years and the evidence for LDL-C lowering in this population. Learning Objectives: (1) discuss limitations of evidence, alternative risk calculators, and recommendations for older adults incorporating comorbidities, functional status, and cognitive status; (2) review evidence for adverse effects of statin therapies in this population; (3) describe evidence for deprescribing.

Moderator: TBD

This session is intended to provide the latest information for healthcare professionals on vaccinations for older adults and to share how the AGS’ Older Adults Vaccine Initiative is making strides to increase vaccinations. Learning Objectives: (1) review the latest recommendations and guidelines pertaining to vaccination indications and schedules for older patients (2) discuss strategies to actively promote the CDC’s Standards of Adult Immunization Practices (SAIP); (3) describe approaches to improve vaccination rates among older adults.

Sponsored by the Research Committee

Moderator: John A. Batsis, MD, FACP, AGSF, FGSA & Kah Poh (Melissa) Loh, MBBCh BAO, MS, FACCC

This session will focus on emerging research in artificial intelligence and machine learning, including current funding and pilot, and how such technologies can be potentially be translated into clinical care using functional status, cognitive impairment, and oncology care as examples. Learning Objectives: (1) review the implementation and evaluation of novel, AI-based cognitive assessments in detecting cognitive decline; (2) describe the role of the new AI Technology Center to enhance the impact on the independence of older adults, with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches and initiatives supported by the Johns Hopkings AI Collaboratory for Aging Research; (3) review the basic terminology related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare and the barriers and facilitators of using AI in clinical care of the older adult with cancer.

Teaching Faculty and Small Group Facilitators: Vanessa Rodriguez, MD; Helen Fernandez, MD, MPH; Greg Pawlson, MD, MPH; Roopali Gupta, MD; Caitlyn Kuwata, MD; Nisha Rughwani, MD; Lesca Hadley, MD; Martine Sanon, MD; Segun Apoeso, MD; Rebecca Masutani, MD; Verónica Rivera, MD; Laurel Hansen, MD; Fiorella Pérez, MD; Pei Chen, MD

Geriatrics healthcare professionals are being asked to assume a wide variety of leadership positions in both academic and other healthcare organizations, requiring leaders that are highly skilled and adaptive to the increasing speed and number of changes occurring in the healthcare system and beyond. Learning Objectives: (1) effectively employ deep understanding of how healthcare organizations interact with local, regional, national and transnational cultures; (2) review environmental awareness at both physical and psychological levels of society.

Moderator: Kathleen Unroe, MD, MHA, MS

The National Institute on Aging recently funded the $15.6 million NEXT STEPs (Nursing home EXplanatory clinical Trials: Supporting Transformation by Enhancing Partnerships) initiative to create the organizational structure, processes, and procedures to develop a sustainable, diverse network of nursing home (NH) partners and researchers conducting clinical trials designed to guide optimal care. This presentation will describe the evidence that supported the key elements and highlight the opportunities available for researchers, providers, and advocates to participate in the NEXT STEPS initiative. Learning Objectives: (1) identify high priority gaps and promote scalable best practices in quality of clinical care in nursing homes that can be addressed through research; (2) describe the resources of the Long Term Data Cooperative; (3) describe specific opportunities to engage in clinical research in nursing homes; (4) list benefits to participation in a nursing home research network.

Developed by the Research Committee  

Moderator: TBD

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.

Sponsored by the Teachers Section and Education Committee

Moderator: Lisa Strano-Paul, MD

This program is a faculty development module designed for Undergraduate Medial Education (UME) and Graduate Medical Education (GME) educators. It will review the current state of geriatrics education in UME and GME focusing on Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accreditation standards. Learning Objectives: (1) describe the current accreditation standards of geriatric education in UME and GME; (2) compare the LCME/ACGME accreditation standards for UME/GME with ADGAP minimal competencies for Geriatric Education; (3) evaluate sample models of successful geriatric curricular enhancements in UME and GME; (4) create and plan models of geriatric education for implementation at home institution.