This article discusses how the development of a longitudinal geriatric assessment form facilitated a case management program in identifying high-risk frail elders within a military family practice clinic. A careful review of geriatric assessment tools was performed. From this review, a model geriatric assessment form was developed. A "SWOT" (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of the family medicine department was completed to determine if the environment was ready for case management. Analysis of the SWOT data revealed that the environment was favorable for a population-based approach to case management. Results of this initial study are encouraging. The new longitudinal geriatric assessment form has assisted family practice residents in organizing problems and data while seeing elderly patients. As a direct result, higher-risk frail elders have been identified for closer evaluation and follow-up. Future goals are to measure outcomes-based data and to refine the geriatric assessment process.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.