Abstract
We surveyed medical directors of primary care clinics in California to learn how those clinics cared for their frail older patients. Of 143 questionnaires sent, 127 (89%) were returned. A median of 30% of all patient encounters were with persons aged 65 or older, and a median of 20% of older patients were considered frail. A total of 20% of the clinics routinely provided house calls to homebound elderly patients. Of clinics involved in training medical students or physicians (teaching clinics), 70% had at least one physician with an interest in geriatrics, compared with 42% of nonteaching clinics (P < .005). For frail patients, 40% of the clinics routinely performed functional assessment, while 20% routinely did an interdisciplinary evaluation. Continuing education in geriatrics emerged as a significant independent correlate of both functional assessment and interdisciplinary evaluation. Among the 94 clinics with a standard appointment length for the history and physical examination, only 11 (12%) allotted more than 60 minutes for frail patients. The data suggest that certain geriatric approaches are being incorporated into clinic-based primary care in California but do not provide insight into their content or clinical effects.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 385-391 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Western Journal of Medicine |
| Volume | 156 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - 1992 |
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Keywords
- CLINIC- BASED GERIATRICS
- ELDERLY PATIENT CARE
- FRAIL OLDER PATIENTS
- GERIATRIC MEDICINE
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Clinic-based primary care of frail older patients in California. / Hirsch, Calvin H; Winograd, C. H.
In: Western Journal of Medicine, Vol. 156, No. 4, 1992, p. 385-391.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Clinic-based primary care of frail older patients in California
AU - Hirsch, Calvin H
AU - Winograd, C. H.
PY - 1992
Y1 - 1992
N2 - We surveyed medical directors of primary care clinics in California to learn how those clinics cared for their frail older patients. Of 143 questionnaires sent, 127 (89%) were returned. A median of 30% of all patient encounters were with persons aged 65 or older, and a median of 20% of older patients were considered frail. A total of 20% of the clinics routinely provided house calls to homebound elderly patients. Of clinics involved in training medical students or physicians (teaching clinics), 70% had at least one physician with an interest in geriatrics, compared with 42% of nonteaching clinics (P < .005). For frail patients, 40% of the clinics routinely performed functional assessment, while 20% routinely did an interdisciplinary evaluation. Continuing education in geriatrics emerged as a significant independent correlate of both functional assessment and interdisciplinary evaluation. Among the 94 clinics with a standard appointment length for the history and physical examination, only 11 (12%) allotted more than 60 minutes for frail patients. The data suggest that certain geriatric approaches are being incorporated into clinic-based primary care in California but do not provide insight into their content or clinical effects.
AB - We surveyed medical directors of primary care clinics in California to learn how those clinics cared for their frail older patients. Of 143 questionnaires sent, 127 (89%) were returned. A median of 30% of all patient encounters were with persons aged 65 or older, and a median of 20% of older patients were considered frail. A total of 20% of the clinics routinely provided house calls to homebound elderly patients. Of clinics involved in training medical students or physicians (teaching clinics), 70% had at least one physician with an interest in geriatrics, compared with 42% of nonteaching clinics (P < .005). For frail patients, 40% of the clinics routinely performed functional assessment, while 20% routinely did an interdisciplinary evaluation. Continuing education in geriatrics emerged as a significant independent correlate of both functional assessment and interdisciplinary evaluation. Among the 94 clinics with a standard appointment length for the history and physical examination, only 11 (12%) allotted more than 60 minutes for frail patients. The data suggest that certain geriatric approaches are being incorporated into clinic-based primary care in California but do not provide insight into their content or clinical effects.
KW - CLINIC- BASED GERIATRICS
KW - ELDERLY PATIENT CARE
KW - FRAIL OLDER PATIENTS
KW - GERIATRIC MEDICINE
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0026504916&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0026504916&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 1574881
AN - SCOPUS:0026504916
VL - 156
SP - 385
EP - 391
JO - Western Journal of Medicine
JF - Western Journal of Medicine
SN - 0093-0415
IS - 4
ER -