Kaiser Permanente Successful Aging Clinic
A Partners In Care,
Institute for Change / Research Center Evaluation
In 2005, Partners in Care Foundation (Partners) was commissioned by leadership of Kaiser Permanente (KP) senior management to evaluate the outcomes of a quality improvement project providing a Successful Aging Clinic for members 65 and over with unrefreshed ECR codes. Patients completed a “Successful Aging Questionnaire” prior to their appointment so that the care team (RNP & MAs) could assess patient history, current medical status and complete a pre-visit work-up crafted to inform the visit. At the clinic, members received age appropriate geriatric screening and a comprehensive exam by an RNP/MA care team as well as treatment, prescriptions and education as appropriate, plus follow-up care and referrals as needed.
Findings revealed that when service utilization was compared by study groups across both sites from baseline to four months, the clinic group had significantly fewer emergency department visits and significantly fewer inpatient hospital days. At baseline, the comparison group reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction, but, by three months after enrollment in the Successful Aging intervention, satisfaction scores were about the same for both study groups, suggesting that the intervention had a positive effect on satisfaction with services for those who received it. Moreover, those receiving the Successful Aging Clinic services had increased referrals for preventive care and follow up care as well as improved coding which may be associated with the discovery of previously undetected medical conditions.
