AGS Releases New and Updated Resources for Clinicians and the Public

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has recently released a variety of new resources and updates for clinicians and the public on GeratricsCareOnline.org and HealthinAging.org. With a focus on clinical tools, GeriatricsCareOnline.org provides high-quality, trustworthy information that ensures healthcare professionals have the most up-to-date knowledge when it comes to caring for older adults. For older adults and caregivers, HealthinAging.org provides educational resources adapted from the latest clinical tools and updates and translated into informational materials for a public audience. The latest resources released include the below.

Aducanumab: What Clinicians Should Know provides preliminary advice for clinicians on informing patients and surrogates about the risks and benefits of aducanumab. Aducanumab, marketed as Aduhelm, is an amyloid beta-directed antibody that was approved by the FDA in June 2021 under its accelerated approval pathway for use in treating patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. An “accelerated approval pathway” allows clinicians to prescribe a drug to patients with serious or life-threatening diseases if there is hope of improvement, even if the drug’s benefits to patients remain uncertain.¹ “Aducanumab: What Clinicians Should Know” offers users advice for prescribing the new drug; an outline of major differences between the FDA’s approved usage of aducanumab and the conditions under which the treatment was studied in clinical trials; additional information about aducanumab’s FDA approval, clinical trials, and cost; and suggestions for further reading.

New and Updated Resources for the Public are available on HealthinAging.org. They include “Aducanumab: What You Should Know,” a tip sheet for older adults and caregivers based on the AGS preliminary advice “Aducanumab: What Clinicians Should Know,” as well as information about COVID-19 vaccines, which are continually updated as CDC recommendations change. “Aducanumab: What You Should Know” helps explain the FDA’s accelerated approval process and what it means for patients with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, amplifying the idea that individuals should consider what matters most in their care and have careful discussions with their care providers about treatment decisions. The resource “Ask the Geriatrician: The COVID-19 Vaccine” advises readers about each vaccine’s development and function, how they are administrated, and what to expect after getting vaccinated. It has been updated with recommendations for booster shots and is one of several resources available on HealthinAging.org regarding COVID-19 treatment and prevention.

The AGS Geriatrics Evaluation & Management Tools (AGS GEMS) include 21 concise, clinical templates which follow a History & Physical (H&P) format and are meant to provide guidance to clinicians and trainees who are caring for older adults. The AGS GEMS Tools can be used as a quick consult for those with experience and training in geriatrics; a checklist for clinicians who are caring for older adults; and as a trainee teaching tool. Each of the templates were updated in 2021, based on the most up-to-date information from the GRS (the GRS11 will be published in January 2022).

The AGS Quick Guide to Diabetes Management in Older Adults provides a five-step framework for diabetes management based on recommendations from the American Diabetes Association and the American Geriatrics Society. The guide was adapted from “Finding the Sweet Spot: an Interactive Workshop on Diabetes Management in Older Adults.²” The guide aids clinicians in their development of individualized goals for diabetes treatment, lists safety and efficacy characteristics of antihyperglycemic agents, and implements geriatric prescribing and deprescribing principles for antihyperglycemic agents. The guide’s framework builds off the AGS approach to multimorbidity and includes a case example.

The AGS/ADGAP Burnout and Resiliency Toolkit developed by the AGS/ADGAP Education Committee’s Faculty Development Subcommittee in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is a compendium of articles and tools offering multiple audiences guidance on maintaining resiliency and avoiding burnout across multiple settings. The toolkit is organized by three topics: (1) identifying wellness burnout level; (2) personal level; and (3) program level.

The Geriatrics 5Ms Quick Guide provides a framework for caring for older adults through the aging process and the end of life that aligns with the 4Ms of Age Friendly Health Systems.
The guide, adapted from Holliday et al,³ outlines five key concepts to help improve care for older adults in any setting: what Matters, Mind, Mobility, Medications, and Multicomplexity.

For more information on these and other recently released AGS resources, visit GeriatricsCareOnline.org.

References:

1. Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. (2021). FDA’s Decision to Approve New Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/fdas-decision-approve-new-treatment-alzheimers-disease
2. Triantafylidis LK, Phillips SC, Hawley CE, Schwartz AW. Finding the sweet spot: an interactive workshop on diabetes management in older adults.  MedEdPORTAL. 2019;15:10845. https://www.mededportal.org/publication/10845/
3. Holliday AM, Hawley CE, Schwartz AW. Geriatrics 5Ms Pocket Card for Medical and Dental Students. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019;67(12):E7-E9.