Models of primary care for frail patients

To discuss models of care for frail seniors provided in primary care settings and those developed by Canadian FPs.

Ovid MEDLINE and the Cochrane database were searched from 2010 to January 2014 using the terms models of care, family medicine, elderly, and geriatrics.

New models of funding for primary care have opened opportunities for ways of caring for complex frail older patients. Severity of frailty is an important factor, and more severe frailty should prompt consideration of using an alternate model of care for a senior. In Canada, models in use include integrated care systems, shared care models, home-based care models, and family medicine specialty clinics. No one model should take precedence but FPs should be involved in developing and implementing strategies that meet the needs of individual patients and communities. Organizational and remunerative supports will need to be put in place to achieve widespread uptake of such models.

Given the increased numbers of frail seniors and the decrease in access to hospital beds, prioritized care models should include ones focused on optimizing health, decreasing frailty, and helping to avoid hospitalization of frail and well seniors alike. The Health Care of the Elderly Program Committee at the College of Family Physicians of Canada is hosting a repository for models of care used by FPs and is asking physicians to submit their ideas for how to best care for frail seniors.