Background: Chronic conditions afflict many older adults 65 and greater. Globally, one in three currently suffers from multiple chronic conditions. Aside from creating negative health outcomes, these chronic conditions are the leading drivers of annual healthcare costs. Locally, Washington County, Utah, has a population of adults 65 years and older of 20.2%, almost double the national percentage of 14.9%. This reveals an opportunity for better management of chronic conditions. EBP Framework: The evidence-based practice framework that guided the implementation of this project was the IOWA Model, in conjunction with Kurt Lewin’s Change theory, which was applied to facilitate a process change. Methods: A chronic conditions sheet was utilized among the medical assistants (MA) at the Desert Edge Medical office in St. George, Utah, during a Medicare visit to identify those who qualify for chronic care management, and notification of this was given to the provider. Outcomes include chronic conditions sheets utilized by the MAs and the number of chronic care management patients identified to determine the significance of financial gain. Findings/Results: The results showed x2=5.000, df=1, p=.025 suggesting the proportions were not equal for each outcome. This is statistically significant and demonstrates that more patients were identified in January 2021 when the chronic conditions sheet was used than in January 2020. Using the chronic conditions sheet allowed 110 patients to be identified as eligible in January 2021. Conclusion: The data suggests that using the chronic conditions sheet allowed the Desert Edge Medical clinic to identify patients that qualify to receive CCM services. This initial step was needed to determine if it was feasible for the clinic to implement these services. It was concluded that it would not be feasible to offer CCM services in the clinic at this time.
