Week In Review

The Larry A. Green Center is continuing to conduct a quick, bi-weekly clinician survey to better understand COVID-19 response and capacity for U.S. primary care practices. The survey takes 3 minutes to complete.

Here is this week's link to the survey on how COVID-19 is impacting your practice.

To date, your data has informed more than 150 news articles (with 200 million impressions) supporting primary care, and has been used by at least 8 national professional organizations to advocate for you on Capitol Hill. This week's responses are required by Tues., Sept. 8, 11:59 pm PT.

Join us on Tues., Sept. 15, from 4-5pm ET (1-2pm PT) for the latest virtual session stemming from #AGS20.

Clinician Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research (Clin-STAR) Paper Session
Moderator: Christopher Carpenter, MD, MS
Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis
Register here. The password is 072895.

This session will present the latest peer-reviewed geriatrics research from four leading researchers in gynecology, nephrology, oncology, and trauma surgery. Questions and answers will follow the presentations.

Panelists:

Rasheeda K. Hall, MD, MBA, MHS
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Duke University
Research Topic: Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs) and Risk of Adverse Outcomes in Older Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Vanessa P. Ho, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Surgery, Associate Professor of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Research Topic: Multimorbidity in Patients with Emergency General Surgery Conditions

Kah Poh (Melissa) Loh, MBBCh, BAO
Senior Instructor, Department of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology (SMD), University of Rochester
Research Topic: Association Between Caregiver-Oncologist Discordance in Length of Life Estimates for the Patient and Caregiver Satisfaction

Nazema Y. Siddiqui, MD, MHSc
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University
Research Topic: Urinary Microbiome in Menopausal Women with Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections

• AGS Snapshot is our monthly video series providing a round-up of news impacting geriatrics and the AGS. In this month's edition, we bring you these updates:

• The recent webinar, "Practical Solutions Using Telehealth for Older Adults in Community-Based and Outpatient Settings," is now available as a recording on GeriatricsCareOnline.org.
   
• Remember to register for the Clin-STAR paper session, happening Tues., Sept. 15, from 4-5pm ET.
   
• We congratulated Joseph Ouslander, MD, AGSF, for preparing to take the helm as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society this fall.
   
• Got a question for your local and national political candidates? Check out the tools and resources we've developed to help you stay informed and engaged at AmericanGeriatrics.org/Decision2020.

AGS leadership starts with you! Serving on the AGS Board will give you the opportunity not only to set policy for the Society but also to ensure its proper implementation. Joining the AGS Nominating Committee also can advance your engagement through an important role considering board nominations.

Applications for both opportunities are open through Thurs., Oct. 1. Click here for more information on becoming a Board Member, and here for more information about the Nominating Committee.

Contribute to #AGS21! The AGS Research Committee is calling for volunteers to review abstracts in different areas of expertise.

To become an Abstract Reviewer, you must have:

• Been first author on two or more peer-reviewed original manuscripts.
• Earned an advanced degree (MD, PhD, MPH, PharmD, MS, etc.) or equivalent non-clinical healthcare degree.

If accepted, you will be asked to review approximately 60 abstracts in the category (or categories) of your choice. The review process will begin Fri., Dec. 4, and all reviews must be completed by Mon., Jan. 4, 2021.

Apply to be an Abstract Reviewer here. For additional questions, please contact Dennise McAlpin, Senior Manager of Professional Education & Special Projects, at dmcalpin@americangeriatrics.org.

• HHS Announces Assisted Living Facilities Can Apply for Provider Relief Fund. Through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), eligible assisted living facilities may now apply for the Phase 2 General Distribution of the Provider Relief Fund, per new guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Paycheck Protection and Health Care Expansion Act made the expansion of recipients for Phase-2 funding possible. The deadline to submit the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) for validation and apply for the Phase 2 General Distribution of the Provider Relief Fund is Sun., Sep. 13. Learn more about how to apply. Here are links to the Provider Relief Fund Application Portal and Provider Relief Fund General FAQs.
   
• Additional Funding for Nursing Homes Based on Reported Data. Last week, HHS announced it delivered approximately $2.5 billion to certified nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities as part of the planned $5 billion distribution to support testing, staffing, and personal protective equipment needs. This week’s announcement details an additional $2 billion distribution of Provider Relief Fund performance-based incentive payments. HHS will allocate funding based on the nursing home performance data submissions to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Learn more from the Terms and Conditions of the Provider Relief Fund’s Skilled Nursing Facility Infection Control Relief Fund Payment.

In oral and written testimony delivered this week to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the AGS stressed the importance of prioritizing health professionals and older adults in the distribution of a future COVID-19 vaccine. Delivered in response to an NASEM draft framework for the equitable distribution of coronavirus immunizations, the comments also stressed the importance of ensuring age is not used to exclude someone categorically from care, including prevention for a pandemic as pernicious as COVID-19. 

"We appreciate that older adults, people with chronic conditions, and others at high risk of dying from COVID-19 are prioritized in the draft framework. However, the AGS [is concerned]...that portions of the underlying analysis that informed these recommendations lean on stereotypes that potentially devalue older adults," noted Timothy W. Farrell, MD, AGSF, vice chair of the AGS Ethics Committee, which developed the recent AGS position statement on resource allocation strategies during COVID-19 and beyond.

Learn more.

Make Sure Your Voice is Heard!

The public comment period for the discussion draft ends today: Sept. 4, at 11:59pm ET!

Interested in lending your voice and expertise? Click here to review the discussion draft and submit comments to the committee for consideration.

Per the committee's request, please ensure your comments (limited to 5,000 characters) do not include any personally identifiable information (e.g., health information, contact information). Any comments containing personally identifiable information will not be used or shared with the committee. 

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) is leading an interagency effort to validate and expand claims-based algorithms to identify patients with frailty and functional disabilities. These algorithms will make it possible to identify patients with frailty and functional disabilities across patient/payer populations in order to support research and inform value-based care and payment.

ASPE invites anyone who works with electronic health record (EHR) data, as well as healthcare providers who care for patients with frailty or functional impairment, to join the EHR Learning Network by sending us an email at EHRLearningNetwork@rand.org. By expressing interest, you will receive project updates, announcements about webinars and presentations, and invitations to give feedback and share your experiences through small group interviews and other channels.

The 2019-2020 Health and Aging Policy Fellows (HAPF) Program is hosting a free webinar series, "Fridays for the Future of Aging." Learn more about upcoming sessions below:

• Too Little, Too Late: The Past, Present, and Future of Long-Term Care
  Fri., Sept. 11, 12-1pm ET. Register here. 
• Reimagining the Eldercare Workforce: Innovating to Improve Care
  Fri., Sept. 18, 12-1pm ET. Register here.
• Economic Security and Global Aging
  Fri., Sept. 25, 4-5pm ET. Register here.