Patient Priorities Aligned Care for Older Adults With Multiple Chronic Conditions

Co-Chairs: Claire Davenport, MD & Ardeshir Hashimi, MD, FACP, AGSF

Older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) receive care that is fragmented, burdensome, and most importantly is not focused on what matters most to them. There is little evidence to guide disease-specific care for people with MCC, who are generally excluded from randomized controlled trials, leading to uncertainty in decision-making for clinicians. Guideline-driven care is not always applicable to older adults with multiple chronic conditions, as it may not accrue the expected benefits and may lead to treatment burden. Most importantly, this care may not be focused on what matters most to persons with MCCs, the health outcomes they prioritize when faced with tradeoffs and the treatments they are willing and able to adhere to. This Special Interest Group aims to identify alternatives to disease guideline-based care, specifically ways to implement patient priorities aligned decision making. Patient priorities aligned decision making calls upon patients and caregivers to articulate their health priorities; communicate those priorities to all team members; patients, caregivers and clinicians then together choose the healthcare best aligned with these health priorities.