Profilanalyse ambulanter Patienten einer geriatrischen Spezialsprechstunde
- Resource Type
- Original Paper
- Authors
- Rohde, Jörg Martin; Kunnel, Asha; Becker, Ingrid; Unger, Heinz L.; Hummel, Jana; Röhrig-Herzog, Gabriele
- Source
- Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie. 56(5):402-407
- Subject
- Spezialisierte geriatrische Diagnostik
Anämie
Funktionseinschränkungen
Ambulante Versorgung
Interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit
Specialized geriatric diagnostics
Anemia
Functional impairment
Outpatient care
Interdisciplinary cooperation
- Language
- German
- ISSN
- 0948-6704
1435-1269
Background: In Germany geriatric outpatient care is predominantly done by family doctors and general practitioners (GP). There are regionally different concepts for additional specialized geriatric outpatient care but they have not yet been validated and established. Still, it remains unclear whether a geriatric patient has to be diagnosed rather in a specialized outpatient or inpatient setting. The aim of the present study is the profiling of geriatric outpatients to find key distinctions from geriatric patients that have to be admitted to hospital.Methods: Retrospective data analysis of patients sent to a specialized geriatric outpatient clinic by their GP, compared with data of geriatric inpatients sent to hospital by their GP during the same time period. Study parameters comprised elements of the comprehensive geriatric assessment as well as results of routinely applied laboratory tests.Results: Patients sent to the specialized geriatric outpatient clinic showed better results of functional assessments. Regression analysis: improvement of Barthel Index, GFR and total protein increased the chance of outpatient treatment.Conclusion: Early identification of geriatric patients who can be treated in a specialized outpatient setting would ease the burden for GPs by interdisciplinary cooperation and prevent cost-intensive readmissions to hospital.