The targeted literature search included evidence related to the effectiveness of 5 U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacologic therapies for dementia for outcomes in the domains of cognition, global function, behavior/mood, and quality of life/activities of daily living. RECOMMENDATION 1: Clinicians should base the decision to initiate a trial of therapy with a cholinesterase inhibitor or memantine on individualized assessment. (Grade: weak recommendation, moderate-quality evidence.) RECOMMENDATION 2: Clinicians should base the choice of pharmacologic agents on tolerability, adverse effect profile, ease of use, and cost of medication. The evidence is insufficient to compare the effectiveness of different pharmacologic agents for the treatment of dementia. (Grade: weak recommendation, low-quality evidence.) RECOMMENDATION 3: There is an urgent need for further research on the clinical effectiveness of pharmacologic management of dementia.

Guideline contains a list of the recommendations and the rating of strength based on the quality of the supporting evidence. Discussion of how each recommendation was developed and the complete evidence report are contained in the full guideline at www.aaos.org/ guidelines.

Objective To determine if the addition of nurse case managers (NCMs) trained in motivational interviewing (MI) to usual care would result in improved outcomes in high risk type 2 diabetes patients. Methods A 2-year randomized controlled pragmatic trial randomized 545 patients to usual care control (n=313) or those who received the intervention (n= 232) with additional practice embedded NCM care, including MI-guided behavior change counseling. NCMs received intensive MI training with ongoing fidelity assessment. Results Systolic BP was better in the intervention group (131±15.9 vs. 135±18.2, p < 0.05). HbA1c, LDL, and diastolic BP improved in both groups: HbA1c (control group 9.1% to 8.0%, intervention group 8.8% to 7.8%), LDL (control group 127 to 100 mg/dL, intervention group 128 to 102 mg/dL), diastolic BP (control group 78 to 74 mm Hg, intervention group 80 to 74 mm Hg). Depression symptom scores were better in the intervention group. The reduction in diabetes-related distress approached statistical significance. Conclusions NCMs and MI improved systolic BP and complications screening. The large decrease in HbA1C and LDL in the control group may have obscured any further intervention effect. Although nurses prompted providers for medication titration, strategies to reduce provider clinical inertia might also be needed. Significant findings of the study In patients with type 2 diabetes, an intervention with nurse case management and motivational interviewing improves systolic blood pressure, depression, and screening for complications. What this study adds First study to look at the benefit of the addition of motivational interviewing to nurse case management in the care of the high-risk adult with type 2 diabetes. Particular attention was given to ensuring fidelity to the motivational interviewing approach.

Computer cases are effective learning tools, are well-received by students, and can be successfully integrated into existing clerkships.

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PURPOSEThe medical home has gained national attention as a model to reorganize primary care to improve health outcomes. Pennsylvania has undertaken one of the largest state-based, multipayer medical home pilot projects. We used a positive deviance approach to identify and compare factors driving the care models of practices showing the greatest and least improvement in diabetes care in a sample of 25 primary care practices in southeast Pennsylvania. METHODSWe ranked practices into improvement quintiles on the basis of the average absolute percentage point improvement from baseline to 18 months in 3 registry-based measures of performance related to diabetes care: glycated hemoglobin concentration, blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. We then conducted surveys and key informant interviews with leaders and staff in the 5 most and least improved practices, and compared their responses. RESULTSThe most improved/higher-performing practices tended to have greater structural capabilities (eg, electronic health records) than the least improved/ lower-performing practices at baseline. Interviews revealed striking differences between the groups in terms of leadership styles and shared vision; sense, use, and development of teams; processes for monitoring progress and obtaining feedback; and presence of technologic and fi nancial distractions.CONCLUSIONS Positive deviance analysis suggests that primary care practices' baseline structural capabilities and abilities to buffer the stresses of change may be key facilitators of performance improvement in medical home transformations. Attention to the practices' structural capabilities and factors shaping successful change, especially early in the process, will be necessary to improve the likelihood of successful medical home transformation and better care.

Motivation plays an important part in an elderly individual's ability to recover from a disabling event. On the other hand, apathy is a lack of motivation. The Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) is an 18‐item instrument that rates a person's thoughts, actions, and emotions over the previous 4 weeks. The purpose of this study was to use the AES with 102 patients in a geriatric rehabilitation program to determine if it predicted improved function after rehabilitation. In addition, a short 7‐item version of the AES was tested. A strong correlation was demonstrated between the 18‐item AES and the 7‐item AES, the Mini‐Mental State Examination, and the Geriatric Depression Scale. In separate regression analyses, we found that admission function and both the 18‐item and 7‐item AES were significant predictors of discharge function, and that functional level at admission to rehabilitation accounted for 31% of the variance in function after rehabilitation. The findings suggest that the AES might be an appropriate measure of motivation in older adults and might predict success in rehabilitation. Moreover, the ability to identify patients with low motivation can alert healthcare providers to develop interventions to improve older adults' motivation and help them attain and maintain their highest functional level.

Introduction/Objectives: Screening guidelines for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer (CRC) are less clear for older adults due to the potential harms that may result from screening. Understanding older adults’ attitudes and perceptions, especially racial/ethnic minority and underserved adults, of cancer screening can help health care providers determine how best to communicate with older adults about cancer screening and screening cessation. The objective of this study was to determine how older adults primarily from minority/underserved backgrounds perceive cancer screening and overscreening. Methods: Four focus groups (n = 39) were conducted with adults (>=65 years of age) in 3 community settings in south-central Pennsylvania. Two focus groups were conducted in Spanish and translated to English upon transcription. Focus group data was managed and analyzed using QSR NVivo 12. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data where themes emerged following the coding process. Results: The focus group participants had an average age of 74 years and were primarily female (74%) and Hispanic (69%), with 69% reporting having less than a high school degree. Four key themes were identified from the focus groups: (1) importance of tailored and targeted education/information; (2) impact of physician/patient communication; (3) impact of barriers and facilitators to screening on cancer screening cessation; and (4) awareness of importance of screening. Participants were more likely to be agreeable to screening cessation if they received specific information regarding their health status and previous medical history from their physician as to why screening should be stopped and told by their physician that the screening decision is up to them. Conclusions: Older adults prefer individualized information from their physician in order to justify screening cessation but are against incorporating life expectancy into the discussion. Future research should focus on developing interventions to test the effectiveness of culturally tailored screening cessation messages for older adults.