AGS Conference Preview

AGS to Provide Latest Geriatric News, Insights

By Heather Hogstrom

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Annual Scientific Meeting will be held in Long Beach, California from May 19 to 21, with preconference sessions held on May 18. While in the heart of Southern California, AGS conference attendees can take a walking tour to see the historic architecture of downtown Long Beach, or take a quick cruise on the Pacific Ocean to search for whales, dolphins, sea lions, and other marine life.

The AGS meeting will offer its own opportunities for sightseeing, from guided walking tours of posters to the exhibit hall available for exploring. The second annual AGS Tech Innovations Pavilion, exhibiting on May 19 and 20, will enable attendees to examine products and services from select technology companies and interact with those providing these solutions for geriatric care. The Education Product Showcase will feature educational tools for self-study or for teaching in the classroom or at the bedside.

Many educational sessions and workshops, providing up to 28.5 CEUs, are available for attendees to choose from. Sessions offered at this year’s AGS meeting are divided into the following tracks:

• Clinical Practice: Sessions include “Falls Prevention in Older Adults,” “Clinical Skills Workshop II: Clinician's Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers,” and “CPT Coding: Basic Principles and Practice.”
• Education: Sessions include “Model Geriatric Programs: Geriatric Education Materials and Methods Swap I” and “Beyond Competency: Medication Management in Care Transitions for Medical Students, Residents, and Other Health Care Practitioners.”
• Models of Care: Sessions include “Training and Support for Family Caregivers of Persons With Dementia: Innovative Model Programs and Resources” and “Emerging Models of Care and Payment for Better Health Outcomes in Older Adults—Late Breaking Innovations in Health Care Policy and Practice.”
• Networking: Sessions include “Information Technology Issues,” “Palliative Care,” “Clinical Research in Dementia,” and “Needs of Older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons.”
• Professional Development: Sessions include “How to Demonstrate and Sell the Value of Geriatrics” and “Finance: Knowing the Tools and Vocabulary to Leverage Your Program.”
• Public Policy: Sessions include “Improving Care for Low-Income Older Adults: CMS-State Initiatives and Geriatrics Providers-Consumer Advocate Partnerships” and “Shifts in Public Policy: The AGS Guide for Geriatrics Health Care Professionals.”
• Research: Sessions include “Best Practices in Nursing Homes and Hospitals Paper Session” and “That Was the Year That Will Be: Bench Research Findings of 2015 That Will Be at the Bedside by 2020.”

For more information or to register, visit www.americangeriatrics.org/annual_meeting/2016_annual_meeting.

— Heather Hogstrom is an editorial assistant at Today’s Geriatric Medicine.