Abstract
The capability of communities to meet the needs of people living with dementia (PLWD) can be strengthened by health systems coordinating with community-based organizations (CBOs), however clinicians are often unaware of CBO services. By enabling technological-links between a national dementia research program and a national dementia service program in the United States, this study piloted a pragmatic trial of physician referral for an evidence-based intervention that a CBO delivers online in standard practice (i.e., Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST)). Two clinics—one primary care and one neurological specialty clinic—used their electronic health records (EHRs) to identify eligible patients (e.g., with mild to moderate dementia) and clinicians screened the patients to verify appropriateness for referral to the CBO for CST. Screened patients (n=168) were randomized into intervention (referral) and control groups (no referral), and physicians provided the intervention group online referral to the CBO for CST. We describe the study population selected by EHR algorithm, the clinician screening results, the responses of the intervention group to physician referral for CBO-delivered CST, and the rates of CST completion among PLWD. Results suggest that embedding online referral to CBOs into the standard care protocol of clinical settings has potential to broaden access to CBO services and can effectively link national dementia research and service programs. Future research can build on this pilot to assess how the dementia capability of communities can be strengthened by using technology—such as EHRs and online referral—to link clinics with CBOs and to deliver evidence-based interventions.
Presenters
Michael LeporeProfessor, Organizational Systems and Adult Health, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Maryland, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Beyond Technology for Aging Societies
KEYWORDS
Dementia, Care coordination, Electronic health records
