The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new Age-Friendly Hospital Measure, set to take effect on January 1, 2025. This measure, developed by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), aims to improve care for older adult patients by focusing on five key areas.
- Eliciting Patient Healthcare Goals: Ensures patient health-related goals and treatment preferences are obtained to inform shared decision-making.
- Responsible Medication Management: Optimizes medication management by monitoring pharmacological records to avoid inappropriate drugs for older adults.
- Frailty Screening and Intervention: Screens for cognitive impairment (including delirium), mobility, and malnutrition, allowing for early detection and intervention.
- Social Vulnerability: Recognizes and addresses social issues impacting older adults as part of the care plan such as social isolation, economic insecurity, ageism, caregiver stress, limited access to healthcare and elder abuse.
- Age-Friendly Care Leadership: Identifies an age-friendly champion or committee in the hospital to ensure compliance with all components of the measure.
Hospitals participating in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program (IQR) must comply with the measure, with non-compliance potentially leading to financial penalties. The measure will be reported on the CMS Care Compare website, helping patients and caregivers identify hospitals that provide age-friendly care.
The Age-Friendly Hospital Measure, created in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), builds on the standards of the ACS Geriatric Surgery Verification (GSV) Program.
Launched in 2019, the GSV program offers evidence-based strategies to reduce postoperative complications and readmission costs and enhance patient quality of life. The ACS has introduced a new GSV program level tailored to the above five domains of the measure, aiming to improve care, shorten hospital stays, and reduce costs.
“The creation of the Age Friendly Hospital Measure represents a significant step forward in recognizing the unique needs of older patients. We are proud to be strong advocates for this new measure because we are confident that it will lead to improved care and outcomes for this patient population,” said ACS Executive Director & CEO Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS. “The ACS GSV Program will help hospitals meet these new requirements, and will also help them improve care, shorten the length of stay for many patients, and reduce the costs for the delivery of care.”
Addressing the complex needs of older adults has become increasingly urgent, with the over-65 population expected to more than double by 2040. Currently, patients aged 65 and older account for over 40% of inpatient operations.
The ACS, IHI, and ACEP believe this measure will position hospitals to better care for the growing older adult population, ensuring higher quality, patient-centered care.
