- Title
- Essential components of health assessment for older people in primary care: a cross-sectional survey of Australian general practitioners
- Creator
- Carey, Mariko; Zucca, Alison; Rhee, Joel; Sanson-Fisher, Rob; Norton, Grace; Oldmeadow, Christopher; Evans, Tiffany; Nair, Kichu
- Relation
- NHMRC.APP1095078 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1095078 & APP1136168 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1136168
- Relation
- Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health Vol. 45, Issue 5, p. 506-511
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.13108
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Objective: To examine general practitioners’ views about how health assessments for older people should be conducted. Methods: General practitioners were randomly sampled from a national database of medical practitioners and invited to complete a survey. Survey items explored general practitioners’ views about essential components of a 75+ Health Assessment and who should assess each component, consultation time, use of standardised templates and tools, and home visits. Results: Overall, 185 (19.2%) general practitioners participated. Of 61 items presented, 24 were rated ‘essential’ by ≥70% of practitioners, with an average estimated consultation time of 65 minutes. Of the 24 essential items, it was perceived that 21 could be assessed by either a general practitioner or clinic nurse. Most practitioners indicated a standardised template (86%) and standardised tools for complex issues (79%) should be used, and home visits conducted (75%). Conclusions: General practitioners agreed on 24 items as essential for every health assessment, with assessments estimated to take more than one hour. Implications for public health: Increases to remuneration for prolonged assessments or mechanisms for improving efficiency and quality of assessments are needed. Acceptable mechanisms may include standardised patient-reported tools, standardised templates and the use of non-medical staff to assist with assessments.
- Subject
- health assessment; ageing; primary care; preventive screening; implementation
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1473439
- Identifier
- uon:49019
- Identifier
- ISSN:1326-0200
- Language
- eng
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