Over 50% of older adults have three or more chronic diseases. Multimorbidity is associated with many adverse consequences, including death, disability, and institutionalization, increased utilization of healthcare resources, decreased quality of life, and higher rates of adverse effects of treatment or interventions. Comprehensive strategies for healthcare delivery that are not disease-specific, as well as interventions which target geriatric syndromes common in older adults with multimorbidity, show promise for this population.
With a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has developed the Multiple Chronic Conditions: Geriatrics Evaluation and Management Strategies App (MCC GEMS) to address one of the greatest challenges in clinical care of older adults: providing optimal care for frail elders with multiple chronic conditions, or multimorbidity. The MCC GEMS App will help guide the clinician through an approach to managing patients with multimorbidity, one that is built on a firm understanding of the principles of evidence-based medicine, patient preferences and goals of care, clinically feasible methods for understanding prognosis, and the multi-factorial geriatric issues and syndromes that may be consequences of the combinations of diseases and conditions (e.g., polypharmacy). This Approach is based on the AGS’s Guiding Principles for the Care of Older Adults with Multimorbidity: An Approach for Clinicians: http://www.americangeriatrics.org/files/documents/MCC.principles.pdf