AAO-HNSF awarded grant to advance age-friendly care in otolaryngology through national initiative

New initiative focuses on hearing loss, fall risk, medication safety, and cognitive health for millions of older Americans

2026-02-25

(Press-News.org) The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) has been selected by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation, to receive a grant through the Expanding Age-Friendly Approaches to Specialty Ambulatory Care program. The AAO-HNSF is one of a select group of specialty societies awarded funding to develop, implement, and evaluate age-friendly care practices tailored for older adults in outpatient specialty settings.

The 18-month initiative will adapt the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms Framework—What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility—specifically for otolaryngology practice. Through the Academy's Reg-ent℠ clinical data registry and multi-site infrastructure, the project will develop ENT-specific patient tools, including a pre-visit checklist addressing hearing, dizziness, falls, medication safety, and patient communication goals, along with interactive provider dashboards to track quality metrics and outcomes.

"Otolaryngologists are on the front lines of addressing some of the most significant health challenges facing older adults, from hearing loss and its connection to cognitive decline to vestibular dysfunction and fall risk," said Rahul K. Shah, MD, MBA, AAO-HNSF Executive Vice President and CEO. "This grant allows us to equip our members with specialty-specific, evidence-based tools that continue to put patients at the center of their care—empowering older adults to have more meaningful conversations with their doctors about what matters most to them. We are grateful to CMSS and The John A. Hartford Foundation for this opportunity to lead in age-friendly specialty care."

The project leverages the AAO-HNSF's Reg-ent registry, which includes nearly 2,000 ENT providers across 200 practices, 13 million unique patients, and 127 million encounters. Using this multi-site clinical research infrastructure, the Academy will link patient-reported checklist data with clinical outcomes to evaluate the impact of the 4Ms on care quality—while minimizing the burden on busy practices and providers.

The AAO-HNSF will partner with seven ENT practices across the country to pilot the initiative. Participating practices span general ENT, otology, neurotology, and vestibular/balance care, with a focus on serving large populations of older adults.

“We’re honored to serve as a pilot site for this important initiative. Caring for older adults is central to our daily practice, and integrating age-friendly quality measures into the Reg-ent platform is a natural next step. Having actionable data on hearing, balance, medications, and what matters most to our patients will strengthen shared decision-making and help us deliver more personalized, high-quality care to our older population,” David E. Melon, MD, President, Carolina Ear, Nose & Throat – Sinus and Allergy Center, P.A.

For otolaryngology, the 4Ms are directly relevant to daily clinical care. Hearing loss is strongly associated with cognitive decline, vestibular dysfunction increases fall risk—the leading cause of injury-related death among older adults—and polypharmacy raises the risk of ototoxicity and imbalance.

In addition to developing and implementing the tools, the AAO-HNSF will disseminate findings broadly through its publications and communication channels, Annual Meeting, podcast, resident education curriculum, and partner organizations to drive adoption of age-friendly practices across the specialty.

Funding Acknowledgement:

The Expanding Age-Friendly Approaches to Specialty Ambulatory Care project is supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation through a grant of $1,500,000 to the Council of Medical Specialty Societies. The John A. Hartford Foundation, based in New York City, is a private, nonpartisan, national philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults. The leader in the field of aging and health, the foundation has three areas of emphasis: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregivers, and improving serious illness and end-of-life care.

About CMSS:

The Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) is a coalition of more than 50 specialty societies representing nearly 1 million physicians across the house of medicine. CMSS advances the expertise and collective voice of specialty societies and the patients they serve to drive meaningful changes in the future of healthcare.

About the AAO-HNS/F
The AAO-HNS/F is one of the world’s largest organizations representing specialists who treat the ears, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. Otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons diagnose and treat medical disorders that are among the most common affecting patients of all ages in the United States and around the world. Those medical conditions include chronic ear disease, hearing and balance disorders, hearing loss, sinusitis, snoring and sleep apnea, allergies, swallowing disorders, nosebleeds, hoarseness, dizziness, and tumors of the head and neck as well as aesthetic and reconstructive surgery and intricate micro-surgical procedures of the head and neck. The Academy has approximately 13,000 members. The AAO-HNS Foundation works to advance the art, science, and ethical practice of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery through education, research, and quality measurement.

About Reg-ent

Reg-ent is the AAO-HNSF's clinical data registry focused on quality improvement and patient outcomes. The Reg-ent registry—which has grown to include over 13 million unique patients and 127 million patient visits—represents the largest national otolaryngology-specific clinical data repository. The registry supports quality measurement, practice-based research, and the advancement of evidence-based care in otolaryngology.

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