Reducing the Risk for Hospital Readmission, Preparing therapists for the next Generation
Early Bird rates will end September 5
9/28/20198:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Quinnipiac North Haven
370 Bassett Road
Room: SLE 350 lecture hall
North Haven, CT
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Presenters:
Jason Falvey, PT, DPT, PhD
Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy
Janine Hatch, PT, DPT, MS
Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy
3 Contact Hours
Course Description:
Rehabilitation professionals across the spectrum of settings from acute to post acute to outpatient will be required to integrate current evidence to increase the quality of care in the presence of lowering cost of care. Through lecture and audience question-and-answer sessions, the speakers will present current evidence on the emerging relationship between impaired physical function and hospital readmissions, and highlight the current lack of physical therapist involvement in formal care transitions models designed to prevent readmissions. The lack of physical therapy involvement in these models is troubling, because functional deficits represent an independent risk factor for hospital readmission. Physical function also is a potentially modifiable biomarker for readmission that is potentially addressable with physical therapy interventions. For example, older adults with pneumonia or chronic heart failure (CHF) who receive physical therapy services during the period between hospital admission and 30 days post-discharge have fewer hospital readmissions and greater improvements in physical function.
The presenters will then discuss how to integrate physical therapists into these models, with an emphasis on providing actionable strategies to improve care during transitions from hospital to post-acute and community settings. Immediately translatable clinical recommendations will include how to improve clinical assessment, prognostication, and interdisciplinary communication. Considering the strong evidence which links functional abilities in the immediate post-hospitalization period to readmission risk, PTs need to assume a stronger role in the management of hospitalized adults within care transition models. PTs are in a unique position to contribute meaningfully to existing and new innovative care transition models. This course is designed to provide the practicing physical therapist with current evidence and practice tools needed to make value-based care decisions across settings and work collaboratively with other healthcare disciplines in reducing avoidable hospital readmissions.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the participant will be able to:
- Verbalize the current Medicare policies related to hospital readmissions in post-acute care and outpatient settings
- Evaluate factors across settings associated with increased risk of unplanned hospital readmission.
- Characterize the current evidence that supports the role of the PT in care transitions
- Integrate evidence and implement high-quality rehabilitation care to reduce readmission risk across settings
- Identify outcome measures that identify risk for readmission.
Presenter Bio:
Dr. Jason Falvey is a physical therapist working as a post-doctoral research fellow at Yale University in New Haven, CT. He holds a bachelors degree in English, and a doctor of physical therapy degree from Husson University in Bangor, Maine and a PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. He is also a board-certified geriatric clinical specialist. Jason’s research interests focus on improving post-acute care quality and outcomes for older adults recovering from major medical events, such as surgery or critical illness. His PhD research focused on the role of physical therapists addressing readmission risk within home-based and long-term care. To date, Jason has authored or co-authored 21 peer reviewed papers in widely read rehabilitation and geriatrics journals, and has presented his work at local and national conferences, including the last 3 CSM conferences.
Janine Hatch has been teaching in the Physical Therapy program at Sacred Heart University for the past 15 years and has extensive experience managing older adult clients with post-operative musculoskeletal conditions, balance and mobility disorders, and vestibular dysfunction across the spectrum of clinical settings. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy from New York University, and MS and DPT degrees from MGH-IHP with concentrations in balance disorders in the elderly and clinical management of vestibular disorders, earned her certification as a Vestibular Rehabilitation Specialist through Emory University, and is an APTA board-certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist. Additionally, she has authored a number of publications on balance and vestibular dysfunction, and is a reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy and the American Journal for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
