Older Adult Patients and Care Partners as Knowledge Brokers in Fragmented Health Care

Older adult patients are vulnerable to communication and coordination challenges during an ED visit, which can be exacerbated by the time and resource constrained ED environment. Yet, as a constant throughout the patient journey, patients and care partners can act as an information conduit, or knowledge broker, between fragmented care systems to attain high-quality, safe car

In this study including HIP Investigators Dr. Brian Patterson and Dr. Maureen Smith, participants included 14 older adult patients and their care partners (e.g., spouse, adult child) who presented to the ED after having experienced a fall. They found that patients and care partners, acting as knowledge brokers, often fill gaps in communication and participate in care coordination that assists in mitigating health care fragmentation.