An electronic frailty index (eFI) has been developed and validated in the UK; it uses data from primary care electronic medical records (EMR) for effective frailty case-finding in primary care. This project examined the convergent validity of the eFI from Canadian primary care EMR data with a validated frailty index based on comprehensive geriatric assessment (FI-CGA), in order to understand its potential use in the Canadian context. A cross-sectional validation study, using data from an integrated primary care research program for seniors living with frailty in Edmonton, AB. Eighty-five patients 65 years of age and older from six primary care physicians’ practices were recruited. Patients were excluded if they were under 65 years of age, did not provide consent to participate in the program, or were living in a long term care facility at the time of enrolment. We used scatter plots to assess linearity and Pearson correlation coefficients to examine correlations. Results indicate a strong statistically significant correlation between the eFI and FI-CGA (r = 0.72, 95% CI 0.60–0.81, p < 0.001). A simple linear regression showed good ability of the eFI scores to predict FI-CGA scores (F (1,83) = 89.06, p < .0001, R2 = 0.51). Both indices were also correlated with age, number of chronic conditions and number of medications. The study findings support the convergent validity of the eFI, which further justifies implementation of a case-finding tool that uses routinely collected primary care data in the Canadian context.

Background. Research, practice, and policy have focused on educating family caregivers to sustain care but failed to equip healthcare providers to effectively support family caregivers. Family physicians are well-positioned to care for family caregivers. Methods. We adopted an interpretive description design to explore family physicians and primary care team members’ perceptions of their current and recommended practices for supporting family caregivers. We conducted focus groups with family physicians and their primary care team members. Results. Ten physicians and 42 team members participated. We identified three major themes. “Family physicians and primary care teams can be a valuable source of support for family caregivers” highlighted these primary care team members’ broad recognition of the need to support family caregiver’s health. “What stands in the way” spoke to the barriers in current practices that precluded supporting family caregivers. Primary care teams recommended, “A structured approach may be a way forward.” Conclusion. A plethora of research and policy documents recommend proactive, consistent support for family caregivers, yet comprehensive caregiver support policy remains elusive. The continuity of care makes primary care an ideal setting to support family caregivers. Now policy-makers must develop consistent protocols to assess, and care for family caregivers in primary care.

Background/Objectives: Family physicians are essential to a well-functioning healthcare system; however, they face significant administrative and cognitive burdens that contribute to their burnout and reduce the quality of patient care they provide. Digital health tools offer potential solutions to these problems. This study examined the interface design and features of a digital health platform, Carmi, designed to mitigate administrative inefficiencies and cognitive overload by asynchronous patient data gathering and automated report generation. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with nine family physicians practicing in Alberta, Canada, to gather their feedback on Carmi’s interface design and features. Participants were asked to view a 20 min virtual demonstration of Carmi and provide input on its interface, navigation, potential impact on their clinic workflow, and suggestions for additional features. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed using NVivo. Results: Participants found Carmi’s interface user-friendly; most agreed that Carmi could reduce cognitive burden by automatically generating summary reports of assessments completed by patients and facilitating care coordination. Participants thought integration within existing electronic medical records was important, albeit Care of the Elderly physicians saw the value of Carmi as a standalone platform, noting that it can become a collaborative space where all healthcare providers can contribute to patient care. Conclusions: Carmi has the potential to improve primary care efficiency, especially for older adults with complex health needs. Work is underway at several pilot sites that have implemented Carmi so far to gather physicians, patients, and their caregivers’ feedback on its usability.