An interdisciplinary geriatric consultation service: a controlled trial.

Area of Science:

• Geriatrics
• Internal Medicine
• Hospital Administration

Background:

• Elderly patients (75+) often present with multiple comorbidities and functional impairments.
• Hospitalized geriatric patients frequently experience anemia, hypoalbuminemia, and elevated BUN.
• High rates of functional dependence, cognitive impairment, and depression are common in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the structure and function of a newly established interdisciplinary Geriatric Consultation Team (GCT).
• To evaluate the impact of the GCT on service utilization and patient outcomes in an acute-care setting.
• To assess the GCT's effect on hospital readmission rates for geriatric patients.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a Geriatric Consultation Team (GCT) on a single medical unit.
• Consultations provided to 46 consecutive patients aged 75 years and older.
• Comparison of GCT patients with control units and subjects regarding service use and readmission rates.

Main Results:

• The GCT significantly increased the utilization of physical therapy (357%), occupational therapy (390%), and speech therapy (300%).
• No increase in length of hospital stay was observed with GCT implementation.
• Hospital readmission rates for GCT patients were not decreased compared to control subjects (43% over 10.5 months).

Conclusions:

• The Geriatric Consultation Team (GCT) effectively promotes geriatric care principles and interdisciplinary teamwork.
• The GCT enhances awareness of geriatric patients' functional problems and increases access to rehabilitative services.
• The GCT, while beneficial for service delivery, did not reduce the high hospital readmission rates among geriatric patients.