Geriatric assessment teams

In geriatric care, a form of teamwork is the recommended modality because of the complex biopsychosocial needs of the patient. The goal of geriatric assessment programs is to establish an intensive assessment of older adults which requires the competencies of several coordinated disciplines. Not only do teams have the capacity to assess patients in much greater depth but also patients share different information with different providers. The composition of the team is dictated by the needs of the patient population in accordance with resources available. Next, one must identify a method of team practice in order for interactions to take place. The method of functioning determines what kind of team it is, ranging from independent functioning with minimal formal interfacing to interdependent activity interspersed with formal and informal interactions. In initiating a geriatric assessment program, one needs to determine which tasks demand interdisciplinary collaboration, which require interdisciplinary consultation, and which can be performed using a matrix or extended team model. In this model, the core team is supplemented by other disciplines as determined by the team, predicated on patient problems. Teams can profit from training, which can help with choosing an appropriate model, establishing a manual of procedure, and managing interactive issues and problems. This can occur early in the team's formation, or when a team takes on new members. The minimal level of team development would include establishing program goals, delineating professional responsibilities and roles, and implementing a system for exchanging and documenting information about patient plans. Saving input to share only in team meeting is inefficient, so health care teams need to recognize the importance of informal interchanges. It is still a matter of conjecture about what team works best with which patients under what circumstances or conditions. Multiple randomized clinical trials with teams will give us more information in this regard. In the meantime, organizers of geriatric assessment programs will have to make decisions based on clinical practice in the team development field and extrapolations from related health care team studies.