Innovative Tool for Assessing Frailty in Older Adults Developed

Researchers at Mass General Brigham have introduced a new tool designed to identify older adults at a heightened risk for emergency health needs, hospital readmissions, or mortality. This innovative measurement of frailty, an age-related condition, was developed by analyzing health records from over 500,000 patients treated in various hospitals within the Mass General Brigham network.

The findings of this study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, aim to assist healthcare providers in managing high-risk patients even in scenarios where comprehensive primary care records are lacking. The significance of this tool lies in its potential to improve patient care by efficiently identifying individuals who may require more intensive health interventions.

Frailty has been linked to increased risks of falls, hospitalizations, and avoidable healthcare expenses. The challenges in measuring frailty often stem from the reliance on electronic health records (EHRs), as patients frequently receive care from multiple healthcare systems, leading to gaps in their health information. This study demonstrates a method to navigate these challenges, enabling the identification of patients who are at risk of experiencing adverse health outcomes.

The research focused on EHR data from patients aged 60 and older who had one or two outpatient visits prior to 2017. The team developed a frailty index that categorized patients into four groups: robust, pre-frail, frail, and very frail, based on 31 age-related health deficits identified in their records. Among the 518,449 patients analyzed, it was found that 72.9% were classified as robust, 15.8% as pre-frail, 6.9% as frail, and 2.8% as very frail. Notably, those classified as very frail exhibited significantly higher rates of mortality and hospital readmissions within a 90-day period compared to their robust counterparts. The likelihood of adverse outcomes increased progressively from pre-frail to very frail individuals.

The results underscore the feasibility of measuring frailty using EHR data, even in cases where information may be incomplete. The senior author of the study expressed optimism that this automated frailty tool, known as the Mass General Brigham Electronic Frailty Index, can serve as a swift mechanism to pinpoint patients most at risk for negative health events. This development is particularly vital for healthcare facilities catering to older and more vulnerable populations.

While the creation of this tool was facilitated by collaboration across the Mass General Brigham system, its applications extend beyond this network. Other healthcare systems may also leverage this tool to identify older adults at risk for health outcomes that could severely impact their overall well-being.

For further information, see the original publication in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.