For the First Time in Annual Meeting History, #AGS21 Goes Virtual

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting will be your top (virtual) destination for the latest in geriatrics research, education, and clinical care, providing the newest evidence-based scientific information to improve your ability to care for older adults. The 2021 Virtual AGS Annual Scientific Meeting (#AGS21), scheduled May 13-15 (pre-conferences
on May 12), will offer multiple concurrent sessions with opportunities for Q&A with speakers, networking events, virtual poster sessions, and the ability to earn more continuing education credit than ever before. 

This year, sessions on multimorbidity, immunization, social isolation, delirium, and innovative care models will be of particular interest to attendees, with a focus on person-centered care and what matters most to patients. Browse some highlights below, and visit Meeting.AmericanGeriatrics.org for registration, the program schedule, and everything else #AGS21.

Decision Making for Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions: The American Geriatrics Society Guiding Principles on the Care of Older Adults with Multimorbidity

The AGS Guiding Principles for the Care of Older Adults with Multimorbidity, which were developed by an expert AGS panel in 2012, present an approach that clinicians can use to make sound care decisions for this population. This session will provide a framework, built on the AGS Guiding Principles, for aligning decisions and care with the health priorities of patients, caregivers, and other clinicians.

Immunizations in Older Adults 

This session will feature brief 7-minute-long TED-style talks about topics like the epidemiology of vaccine-preventable illness in older adults and current immunization recommendations for adults aged 65 and older. 

Social Isolation: Its Relationship with Social Determinants of Health, Bidirectional Relationship to Health Conditions, and How It Impacts Access and Delivery of Care 

Social isolation is an objective lack of social connection that can lead to loneliness, or the subjective feeling of being alone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many older adults are experiencing social isolation, which significantly increases their risk of premature death from all causes. In this session, experts will explain risk factors and measurement tools for social isolation, associated health outcomes, relevant new ICD-10 codes, and ways clinicians can put the new information they learn into practice. 

Thomas and Catherine Yoshikawa Outstanding Scientific Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award Lecture

The central pedagogy of scientific research training is that researchers must be narrowly focused—so goes the saying, “An inch wide and a mile deep.” But this lecture, presented by newly appointed Executive Editor of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) Alex Smith, MD, MS, MPH, will challenge that notion as he shares his “Confessions of an Unfocused Researcher.” 

Disruptive Behaviors and Delirium in Dementia: Best Treatments and Best Practice

Changes in an older adult’s cognitive function—including confusion, inattention, disorientation, and agitation—have resulted in more severe illness, longer hospital stays, and a higher risk of mortality from COVID-19 during the pandemic. Behavioral changes associated with delirium also pose unique challenges for older adults, their caregivers, and health professionals. In this symposium, geriatrics experts will discuss the range of pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical interventions that have been proven effective for treating disruptive behavior.

It’s Not Just Dialysis or Death: Considerations When Starting, Stopping, and Forgoing Dialysis

This session will explore challenges in dialysis treatment, including ways to support those who forgo dialysis and ways of enabling patients on dialysis to receive hospice services. It will feature a videotaped interview between a provider and a patient as they discuss the patient’s experience and decision-making process with starting dialysis. Session participants will learn how to identify dialysis outcomes for older patients, explain aspects of conservative care for those who elect not to initiate dialysis, and have the conversation about stopping or continuing dialysis while receiving hospice services.

That Was the Year That Will Be

A fan favorite among AGS Annual Scientific Meeting attendees, this session will focus on basic science and translational studies from the past year that will impact clinical care in the next 5 years.

Henderson State-of-the-Art Lecture: Leveraging the Potential of Interprofessional Teams in Primary Care Practice

Presented this year by AGS Past President Ellen Flaherty, PhD, APRN, AGSF, the annual Henderson lecture provides attendees with the key components to achieve leadership buy-in and successfully implement interprofessional teams in primary care practice.

Geriatrics Literature Update

An entertaining must-see for meeting attendees, the Geriatrics Literature Update will cover 2020’s most important and impactful journal articles shaping the care of older adults and the associated health outcomes.