Dissemination & Implementation Efforts

Competency Dissemination Activities

• The American Geriatrics Society released the competencies at its May 2010 Annual Meeting.
• An article on the competencies is being written for publication in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 
• PHA representatives have presented the competencies at professional society annual conferences, disseminated them to their members and geriatrics/gerontology special interest groups, published them in organizational newsletters, and distributed them to various committees and organizations responsible for training, certification, and accreditation requirements.  These efforts are the first steps in utilizing the baseline multidisciplinary competencies to help increase geriatrics training for all healthcare professionals.

PHA/AGS Geriatrics Multidisciplinary Competency Implementation Strategies
Strategies for 2011 and Beyond
The AGS is committed to continuing its support of the PHA, to ensure that the multidisciplinary competencies are incorporated into the training programs of all health professionals, which will ultimately translate into improved care for older adults.  A multi-pronged approach will be undertaken by the PHA in 2011 and beyond, including:

• Integrating geriatrics competencies into the curricula, certifying examinations, and health professions schools accreditation criteria for all healthcare disciplines.
• Expanding the multidisciplinary content of The Portal of Geriatric Online Education (POGOe), a free public repository of geriatric education and assessment materials available in various e-learning formats.
• Using the competencies, which include a domain on Interdisciplinary and Team Care, as a resource to underscore the importance of team care in geriatrics and to increase interdisciplinary team training.
• Working with national consumer organizations to advance public awareness of and support for the importance of ensuring that all healthcare professionals have training in the fundamental competencies required to provide quality care for older adults.
• Promoting to hospitals, long-term care facilities, home care agencies, and other healthcare providers the importance of a healthcare workforce trained in geriatrics competencies to help meet provider objectives of care quality and patient safety, better care coordination, and reduced hospital readmissions and healthcare costs.
• Using the multidisciplinary competencies as a source for the development of measures of care quality, patient safety, and outcomes in the older adult population, and tying this work to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation demonstration projects.