CHICAGO: The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is the recipient of a $100,000 grant from the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) to develop comprehensive educational resources to improve surgical care and outcomes for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias who are undergoing surgery.
The ACS was one of 11 organizations awarded a member specialty grant from the CMSS, a coalition of 48 specialty societies representing more than 800,000 physicians across healthcare.
Led by Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, Director of the ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, the ACS project, “Diagnostic Excellence of Dementia and Cognitive Impairment in the Surgical Setting,” will focus on supporting and understanding the complex needs of older patients with cognitive impairments who are undergoing surgery.
The grant has been awarded to ACS at an auspicious time. About 5.6 million adults aged 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, conditions that impair the ability to remember, think, or make decisions.1 As the aging population rapidly grows in the U.S., the prevalence of dementia is also expected to increase, especially among women and minority populations.1 Having dementia and other cognitive impairments can increase the chance of postoperative complications including delirium, cognitive decline, and movement problems.2 Research has shown that dementia is also associated with longer hospitalization and higher rates of discharge to facilities, resulting in higher healthcare costs.3
“There is an urgent need to ensure that quality surgical care is provided for older adult surgical patients with dementia and other cognitive impairments,” said Dr. Ko, principal investigator of the project. “Not only can this approach lead to better health outcomes, but it can also support patient autonomy and trust in the clinician-patient relationship.”
Over the course of one year, the grant will support the development of three main project initiatives:
- Educational materials — written materials, a podcast episode, and a toolkit on best practices — for interdisciplinary teams that care for older adult surgical patients, focused on the accurate diagnoses of dementia and cognitive impairment and the impact on surgical decision-making and the care process.
- A patient and caregiver brochure on what to expect when having surgery, which will include shared decision-making and treatment choice options based on the conditions and surgical needs of patients.
- A conference session for health care professionals on the impact of cognitive impairment on surgical decision-making and the care process, to be held at the 2023 ACS Quality and Safety (ACSQS) Conference.
The selected awards are the result of a competitive grant program administered by CMSS and funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in the amount of $1.26 million for medical specialty societies to support the development of resources and programs to promote the topic of diagnostic excellence for clinician audiences.
“Physicians look to their specialty societies for programs and resources that shape practice and drive improvement in safety, quality, and equity,” said Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, MACP, CEO of the CMSS. “We are very pleased to support the awardees in engaging physicians in diagnostic excellence across the house of medicine.”
The ACS proposal was one of two projects selected to receive an award jointly funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and The John A. Hartford Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the care of older adults.
“Achieving diagnostic excellence for older adults can dramatically improve health outcomes and decrease harm and suffering, especially in surgical care for older patients who may have cognitive impairment,” said Terry Fulmer, President of The John A. Hartford Foundation. “For years, we have partnered with ACS in promoting age-friendly surgical care that focuses on what matters to older adults and we are proud to support the society in this important new work with CMSS.”
- “Minorities and Women Are at Greater Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 20, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/aging/publications/features/Alz-Greater-Risk.html
- Pervin, Farzana, Carolyn Edwards, and Carol F. Lippa. “Dementia with Lew body: impacts of surgery.” American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias®31, no. 1 (2016): 5-17.
- Bekelis, Kimon, Symeon Missios, Joel Shu, Todd A. MacKenzie, and Bruce Mayerson. “Surgical outcomes for patients diagnosed with dementia: a coarsened exact matching study.” Journal of Clinical Neuroscience53 (2018): 160-164.
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