ehr Tools in adrd
Worsening cognitive decline is a hallmark problem in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (ADRD). Despite the well-recognized worsening of cognitive burden by high-risk medications like benzodiazepines, medications with strong anticholinergic side effects, and sedative hypnotics, they continue to be overprescribed in this population. This project developed and pilot-tested electronic health record (EHR)-based deprescribing tools designed to support primary care providers in reducing inappropriate prescribing for patients with cognitive impairment. The study also evaluated the feasibility of identifying care partners through the EHR and assessed caregiver perspectives on receiving electronic interventions to support medication management. EHR-based tools were successfully implemented in the Epic® testing environment at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The study demonstrated that care partners can feasibly be identified and engaged in EHR-based interventions for medication optimization, although improving care partner documentation in the EHR will be important for broader implementation. In addition, care partners were highly interested in using digital health tools to support medication management.
Principal Investigators: Julie Lauffenburger PharmD, PhD
