Technology-enabled care for older adults at Mass General Brigham

The West Health Accelerator at Boston-based Mass General Brigham is a systemwide care model designed to improve safety, quality and efficiency for hospitalized older adults. The initiative embeds evidence-based pathways for mobility, pain, sleep, nutrition and medication safety directly into clinical workflows.

Delivered as an integrated tool, the approach standardizes care plans, clinical decision support and age-specific order sets while generating automated, tailored discharge summaries.

Why this matters

Hospitalized older adults face higher risk of complications, longer lengths of stay and greater variability in care. While many organizations have protocols in place, translating best practices into consistent, systemwide execution remains a challenge.

This initiative addresses that gap by aligning clinical standards, technology and operational workflows into a unified care model. The result is care that is more predictable and easier to scale. It is also better aligned with the needs of older adult patients and the teams who care for them.

How the solution works

The West Health Accelerator at Mass General Brigham is built around four integrated tools that work together to support consistent execution across hospitals:

  • Icon representing evidence-based safety bundles for older adult care

    Evidence-based care pathways and standardized plans: Integrated approaches for mobility, pain, sleep, nutrition and medication safety that reduce variation in care.

  • Icon representing clinical decision support for older adult inpatients

    EHR-embedded decision support: Age-specific clinical decision support tools built directly into everyday workflows to guide consistent care.

  • Icon representing automated transitions for older adult inpatients

    Automated transitions support: Tailored discharge summaries generated from structured data to strengthen continuity and safer transitions of care.

  • Icon representing measurement and continuous improvement for older adult care

    Measurement and continuous improvement: Systemwide performance monitoring to support ongoing refinement and sustained operational improvement.

Common use cases

This solution may be appropriate for:

  • Father carrying toddler boy on shoulders in front of home

    Health systems working to improve inpatient outcomes for older adult populations

  • Healthcare setting illustrating technology-enabled care for older adults at Mass General Brigham

    Organizations seeking to reduce variation and align care models across multiple hospitals

  • Nurses and doctors managing the central hospital lobby in an ICU wing

    Systems integrating evidence-based pathways directly into EHR workflows

  • Happy mature middle aged businesswoman working on laptop computer at modern office workplace

    Clinical and operational leaders focused on scalable, sustained transformation across their organizations

Join the movement

The future of care will be shaped by how quickly proven technologies are adopted and scaled. Join leaders across the country who are committed to translating innovation into reliable, systemwide improvement.