Browsing by Author "Borson, Soo"

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    Brain health: the importance of recognizing cognitive impairment: an IAGG consensus conference
    (Elsevier, 2015-09-01) Morley, John E.; Morris, John C.; Berg-Weger, Marla; Borson, Soo; Carpenter, Brian D.; del Campo, Natalia; Dubois, Bruno; Fargo, Keith; Fitten, L. Jaime; Flaherty, Joseph H.; Ganguli, Mary; Grossberg, George T.; Malmstrom, Theodore K.; Petersen, Ronald D.; Rodriguez, Carroll; Saykin, Andrew J.; Scheltens, Philip; Tangalos, Eric G.; Verghese, Joe; Wilcock, Gordon; Winblad, Bengt; Woo, Jean; Vellas, Bruno; Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, IU School of Medicine
    Cognitive impairment creates significant challenges for patients, their families and friends, and clinicians who provide their health care. Early recognition allows for diagnosis and appropriate treatment, education, psychosocial support, and engagement in shared decision-making regarding life planning, health care, involvement in research, and financial matters. An IAGG-GARN consensus panel examined the importance of early recognition of impaired cognitive health. Their major conclusion was that case-finding by physicians and health professionals is an important step toward enhancing brain health for aging populations throughout the world. This conclusion is in keeping with the position of the United States' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that reimburses for detection of cognitive impairment as part the of Medicare Annual Wellness Visit and with the international call for early detection of cognitive impairment as a patient's right. The panel agreed on the following specific findings: (1) validated screening tests are available that take 3 to 7 minutes to administer; (2) a combination of patient- and informant-based screens is the most appropriate approach for identifying early cognitive impairment; (3) early cognitive impairment may have treatable components; and (4) emerging data support a combination of medical and lifestyle interventions as a potential way to delay or reduce cognitive decline.
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    Implementing a biomarker‐enabled care pathway to accelerate identification of early‐stage Alzheimer’s disease in primary care
    (Wiley, 2025-01-09) Borson, Soo; Au, Rhoda; Chodos, Anna H.; Gandy, Sam E.; Jain, Holly; Kerwin, Diana R.; Mintzer, Jacobo; Monroe, Stephanie; Robinson, Delecia; Wilcock, Donna M.; Mielke, Michelle M.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Background: New blood‐based and digital biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) make early detection possible at stages when novel, disease‐specific therapies are likely to be most effective. These approaches may offer less invasive, more cost‐effective alternatives to traditional methods such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection or positron emission tomography (PET) imaging for diagnosing and staging AD. Building care pathways leveraging blood‐based and digital biomarkers starts with understanding the current biomarker landscape and considering opportunities for widespread implementation in primary care clinical practice. Methods: A multidisciplinary team representing neurology, neuropsychology, geriatrics, primary care, epidemiology, laboratory programs, and patient advocacy was convened to review a summary of current biomarker research findings and discuss barriers and opportunities to implement biomarkers as part of an AD consensus‐driven clinical care pathway. Results: The emergence of biomarkers has shifted diagnosis from primarily clinical to a biological definition of AD. However, there is currently no consensus on where biomarkers fit within an AD care pathway and when they should be utilized in primary care or dementia specialist care settings. We found a relative paucity of published data on biomarker test accuracy in diagnosis outside tightly controlled research settings, limiting guidance around how results should be interpreted and managed in real‐world care settings. Evidence gaps are especially pressing for heterogeneous, diverse populations under‐represented in AD research. New biomedical therapies specific to the pathobiology of AD are driving research on blood and digital biomarkers to inform optimal ways to accelerate identification. As most individuals with AD are not evaluated by specialists, accurate and usable information about the place of biomarkers in the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment must reach primary care Conclusions: With growing interest in the promise of non‐invasive biomarkers to improve detection, differentiation, and diagnosis of AD, new research is needed to generate real‐world evidence about their performance across populations, how to interpret results, and how best to use them in patient management. Effective educational strategies are needed to disseminate high‐quality evidence that engages primary care and healthcare delivery systems in implementing optimal clinical pathways. More detailed learnings for successful care pathway implementation will be shared.
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    Improving quality measurement for dementia care
    (Wiley, 2025) Jennings, Lee A.; Kunicki, Zachary J.; Tambor, Ellen; Rivera-Hernandez, Maricruz; Borson, Soo; Fowler, Nicole R.; Jones, Richard N.; Epstein-Lubow, Gary; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD). Timely detection, quality of care, and access to services for people with ADRD remain poor. Broad acceptance and implementation of quality standards may help improve care processes, outcomes, and inequities in ADRD care. We review existing quality measures for ADRD and identify care domains that lack well-developed measures or for which uptake of existing measures is low. Increasing the use of existing evidence-based ADRD quality measures for health system performance improvement, pragmatic research, and Alternative Payment Models like the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, launched in 2023, may promote changes in care delivery and help address disparities in dementia care. Highlights US dementia care needs better measurement tools to assess quality and inequities. Increased use of current Alzheimer's disease and related dementias quality measures is urgently needed to improve care. Consensus on high-quality dementia care is vital for health system expectations. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model tests a new payment strategy to enhance dementia care quality. Other payers can boost measurement to drive quality care like the GUIDE Model.
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    Opportunities to encourage adoption of a biomarker-enabled care pathway for Alzheimer's in primary care
    (Wiley, 2025-03-11) Borson, Soo; Au, Rhoda; Chodos, Anna H.; Gandy, Sam; Jain, Holly; Alagor, Amy; Cohn, Kristi; Kerwin, Diana R.; Mintzer, Jacobo; Monroe, Stephanie; Robinson, Delecia; Mielke, Michelle M.; Wilcock, Donna M.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Identification of early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a challenge due to limited specialist availability, diagnostic access, disease awareness, and cultural factors. Blood-based biomarkers (BBBM) could play a critical role in the identification and referral of patients suspected of AD to specialty care. A multidisciplinary AD Biomarker Task Force was convened to evaluate current biomarker use cases, define an optimal biomarker-enabled AD diagnostic care pathway, and understand factors impacting adoption. The Task Force identified opportunities to support biomarker-enabled AD diagnostic care pathway adoption, including streamlining risk assessment and screening by leveraging digital tools, activating primary care providers through education, generating data to expand applicability to diverse populations, and advocating for aligned policies and quality measures. Adoption of BBBMs in the primary care setting will be critical to improve early AD detection. However, challenges to pathway adoption persist and will require action from clinicians, payers, policy makers, and patients to address. Highlights: Blood-based biomarkers can streamline the identification of AD in primary care. Future biomarker-enabled diagnostic care pathways will leverage digital assessments. Education, data generation, and policy advocacy are vital to encourage BBBM use. Implementation of AD care pathways requires the activation of diverse stakeholders.
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    Program of Intensive Support in Emergency Departments for Care Partners of Cognitively Impaired Patients: Protocol for a Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial
    (JMIR Publications, 2022-10-20) Chodosh, Joshua; Connor, Karen; Fowler, Nicole; Gao, Sujuan; Perkins, Anthony; Grudzen, Corita; Messina, Frank; Mangold, Michael; Smilowitz, Jessica; Boustani, Malaz; Borson, Soo; Biostatistics, School of Public Health
    Background: Older adults with cognitive impairment have more emergency department visits and 30-day readmissions and are more likely to die after visiting the emergency department than people without cognitive impairment. Emergency department providers frequently do not identify cognitive impairment. Use of cognitive screening tools, along with better understanding of root causes for emergency department visits, could equip health care teams with the knowledge needed to develop individually tailored care management strategies for post-emergency department care. By identifying and directly addressing patients' and informal caregivers' (or care partners') psychosocial and health care needs, such strategies could reduce the need for repeat acute care. We have used the terms "caregiver" and "care partner" interchangeably. Objective: We aimed to describe the protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a new care management intervention, the Program of Intensive Support in Emergency Departments for Care Partners of Cognitively Impaired Patients (POISED) trial, compared with usual care. We described the research design, intervention, outcome measures, data collection techniques, and analysis plans. Methods: Emergency department patients who were aged ≥75 years and screened positive for cognitive impairment via either the Mini-Cog or the proxy-reported Short Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, with a planned discharge to home, were recruited to participate with their identified informal (family or friend) caregiver in the 2-site POISED randomized controlled trial at New York University Langone Health and Indiana University. The intervention group received 6 months of care management from the POISED Care Team of registered nurses and specialty-trained paraprofessionals, who perform root cause analyses, administer standardized assessments, provide advice, recommend appropriate referrals, and, when applicable, implement dementia-specific comorbid condition protocols. The control group received care as recommended at emergency department discharge (usual care) and were given information about resources for further cognitive assessment. The primary outcome is repeat emergency department use; secondary outcomes include caregiver activation for patient health care management, caregiver depression, anxiety, and experience of social support as important predisposing and time-varying enabling and need characteristics. Data were collected from questionnaires and patients' electronic health records. Results: Recruitment was conducted between March 2018 and May 2021. Study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented to peer audiences, decision makers, stakeholders, and other interested persons. Conclusions: The POISED intervention is a promising approach to tailoring care management based on root causes for emergency department admission of patients with cognitive impairment with the aim of reducing readmissions. This trial will provide insights for caregivers and emergency department and primary care providers on appropriate, personalized, and proactive treatment plans for older adults with cognitive impairment. The findings will be relevant to audiences concerned with quality of life for individuals with cognitive impairment and their caregivers.
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    Program of Intensive Support in Emergency Departments for Care Partners of Cognitively Impaired Patients: Protocol for a Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial
    (JMIR, 2022-10) Chodosh, Joshua; Connor, Karen; Fowler, Nicole; Gao, Sujuan; Perkins, Anthony; Grudzen, Corita; Messina, Frank; Mangold, Michael; Smilowitz, Jessica; Boustani, Malaz; Borson, Soo; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background Older adults with cognitive impairment have more emergency department visits and 30-day readmissions and are more likely to die after visiting the emergency department than people without cognitive impairment. Emergency department providers frequently do not identify cognitive impairment. Use of cognitive screening tools, along with better understanding of root causes for emergency department visits, could equip health care teams with the knowledge needed to develop individually tailored care management strategies for post–emergency department care. By identifying and directly addressing patients’ and informal caregivers’ (or care partners’) psychosocial and health care needs, such strategies could reduce the need for repeat acute care. We have used the terms “caregiver” and “care partner” interchangeably. Objective We aimed to describe the protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a new care management intervention, the Program of Intensive Support in Emergency Departments for Care Partners of Cognitively Impaired Patients (POISED) trial, compared with usual care. We described the research design, intervention, outcome measures, data collection techniques, and analysis plans. Methods Emergency department patients who were aged ≥75 years and screened positive for cognitive impairment via either the Mini-Cog or the proxy-reported Short Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, with a planned discharge to home, were recruited to participate with their identified informal (family or friend) caregiver in the 2-site POISED randomized controlled trial at New York University Langone Health and Indiana University. The intervention group received 6 months of care management from the POISED Care Team of registered nurses and specialty-trained paraprofessionals, who perform root cause analyses, administer standardized assessments, provide advice, recommend appropriate referrals, and, when applicable, implement dementia-specific comorbid condition protocols. The control group received care as recommended at emergency department discharge (usual care) and were given information about resources for further cognitive assessment. The primary outcome is repeat emergency department use; secondary outcomes include caregiver activation for patient health care management, caregiver depression, anxiety, and experience of social support as important predisposing and time-varying enabling and need characteristics. Data were collected from questionnaires and patients’ electronic health records. Results Recruitment was conducted between March 2018 and May 2021. Study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented to peer audiences, decision makers, stakeholders, and other interested persons. Conclusions The POISED intervention is a promising approach to tailoring care management based on root causes for emergency department admission of patients with cognitive impairment with the aim of reducing readmissions. This trial will provide insights for caregivers and emergency department and primary care providers on appropriate, personalized, and proactive treatment plans for older adults with cognitive impairment. The findings will be relevant to audiences concerned with quality of life for individuals with cognitive impairment and their caregivers. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03325608; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03325608 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/36607
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    Quality Improvement in Skilled Nursing Facilities for Residents With Alzheimer's Disease
    (Sage, 2016) Farlow, Martin R.; Borson, Soo; Connor, Stephen R.; Grossberg, George T.; Mittelman, Mary S.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Background/rationale: This report describes a quality improvement continuing medical education activity designed to enhance the recognition and treatment of residents with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other dementias in skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs). Methods: Charts were compared in 6 areas prior to and following (stages A and C) a live, faculty-led workshop (stage B). Four SNFs completed stages A (n = 67 residents) and B, and 3 SNFs completed stage C (n = 52 residents). All charts came from residents with AD or a diagnosis of dementia or dementia-like symptoms. Results/conclusion: The SNFs had >95% baseline performance in both the frequency of cognitive assessments and documented medication reviews. The percentage of residents who received a quality-of-life assessment and those who had a mental health care plan in place represent areas for improvement. As part of this activity, a toolkit was developed to help guide facilities and clinicians in instituting care improvements for residents with AD/dementia.
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    Understanding barriers to and facilitators of clinician-patient conversations about brain health and cognitive concerns in primary care: a systematic review and practical considerations for the clinician
    (Springer Nature, 2023-11-06) Borson, Soo; Small, Gary W.; O’Brien, Quentin; Morrello, Andrea; Boustani, Malaz; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background: Primary care clinicians (PCCs) are typically the first practitioners to detect cognitive impairment in their patients, including those with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (ADRD). However, conversations around cognitive changes can be challenging for patients, family members, and clinicians to initiate, with all groups reporting barriers to open dialogue. With the expanding array of evidence-based interventions for ADRD, from multidomain care management to novel biotherapeutics for early-stage AD, incorporating conversations about brain health into routine healthcare should become a standard of care. We conducted a systematic review to identify barriers to and facilitators of brain health conversations in primary care settings. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for qualitative or quantitative studies conducted in the US between January 2000 and October 2022 that evaluated perceptions of cognition and provider-patient brain health conversations prior to formal screening for, or diagnosis of, mild cognitive impairment or ADRD. We assessed the quality of the included studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Results: In total, 5547 unique abstracts were screened and 22 articles describing 19 studies were included. The studies explored perceptions of cognition among laypersons or clinicians, or provider-patient interactions in the context of a patient's cognitive concerns. We identified 4 main themes: (1) PCCs are hesitant to discuss brain health and cognitive concerns; (2) patients are hesitant to raise cognitive concerns; (3) evidence to guide clinicians in developing treatment plans that address cognitive decline is often poorly communicated; and (4) social and cultural context influence perceptions of brain health and cognition, and therefore affect clinical engagement. Conclusions: Early conversations about brain health between PCCs and their patients are rare, and effective tools, processes, and strategies are needed to make these vital conversations routine.