NEWS

Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative Announces Resource to Help Prepare Older Adults for Medical Appointments

Jul 9, 2024

A new “My Health Checklist” is available from the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative, which is designed to help older adults get the most out of upcoming medical appointments. This guide is intended to help older adults think through all aspects of health — what’s going well, what could be better, and questions or concerns.

The guide is broken down into four categories – known as the “four Ms:”

  • What matters to you in your life
  • Medication you may take
  • Your mind and sense of well-being
  • Your mobility

The guide includes a worksheet so older adults and caregivers can take notes on the four categories along with questions. It is currently only available in English, but the announcement mentions versions in Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish are coming soon.

Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), designed to meet this challenge head on.

Age-Friendly Health Systems aim to:

  • Follow an essential set of evidence-based practices;
  • Cause no harm; and
  • Align with What Matters to the older adult and their family caregivers.