Ambulatory care of the aged in Kupat Holim clinics

The use of ambulatory services by the elderly was studied, using data recorded on a daily diary in primary care practices. The number and content of visits to primary care practices in Kupat Holim (Health Insurance Institute of the General Federation of Labor) community clinics in the Sharon and Tel Aviv regions is presented. The rates of use by the total adult population and by those greater than or equal to 65 years old treated by the same physicians are compared for the two regions. As expected, the elderly have the higher visit rates, with 8.4 annual visits as compared with 5.1 for the total adult population in the Sharon region clinics. For Tel Aviv practices, there were 11.7 and 6.8 visits, respectively. The proportion of visits by the elderly in the daily load is around 60% greater than is their proportion in the patient populations. These data do not permit any qualitative analysis, but have implications for the planning, staffing and management of ambulatory care for the elderly.