Lauren Bangerter, PhD | Health Economics and Aging Research Institute, MedStar Health Research Institute; Georgetown University School of Medicine; Yijung Kim, PhD, Aledade; Karl Eric De Jonge, MedStar Washington Hospital Center; Raj Ratwani, MedStar Health Research Institute; Katie Adams, MS, MedStar Health Research Institute; Allan Fong, MS, MedStar Health Research Institute
Competition Sponsor: National Academy of Medicine
Awardee Year: 2025
More than 4-million U.S. adults aged 70 and older are homebound, facing limited access to quality health care despite their multiple chronic conditions and higher acute care utilization rates. Without timely medical care, these individuals face worsening health outcomes and quality of life, leading to escalating costs and strains on the U.S. health care system. Home-based primary care (HBPC), led by geriatricians, has proven to improve outcomes and reduce costs, yet its reach is severely constrained by a national shortage of geriatricians. Compounding this challenge, home visits require significant time spent researching and coordinating community resources—time that could otherwise be devoted to direct medical care. As the homebound population grows, innovative solutions are urgently needed to maximize the efficiency and impact of HBPC. To address this challenge, we propose Smart Assisted Geriatric Encounters (SAGE), an AI-powered smartphone application designed to enhance resource coordination during geriatric home visits. Drawing on Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology, SAGE would create a dynamic knowledge repository of community resources and common patient needs, providing real-time, location-specific recommendations. Through a conversational interface, geriatricians could quickly access this information, addressing resource needs immediately rather than through time-consuming follow-up work. As the system learns from each interaction, it would evolve into a powerful knowledge repository, improving decision-making and optimizing resource utilization. We will pilot SAGE through an established house call program serving low-income communities in a large metropolitan area, laying the groundwork for a scalable solution to enhance HBPC and extend the reach of limited geriatric care resources.