Comment on: Family caregiver assessment in primary care: How to strengthen the healthcare triad?

Abstract

See the Reply by https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.17277. in this issue.

Reply to: Comment on: Family caregiver assessment in primary care: How to strengthen the healthcare triad?

“…In their comment, 1 Balsinha et al point out differences in the way family doctors in Portugal are viewed and practice medicine compared with primary care providers elsewhere, reminding us that primary care occurs within highly variable systems of medical care in countries throughout the world. Healthcare policies, especially regarding reimbursable services, might serve to encourage or restrict primary care providers to engage in family caregiver assessment.…”

“…To the Editor: We read with great interest the article by Van et al on geriatric co-management for cardiology patients. 1 They reported that nurse-led geriatric comanagement for cardiac patients over 75 years of age effectively reduced adverse events after hospitalization. We respect their careful evaluation of the comanagement process.…”

“…To the Editor: The comment by Balsinha et al 1 provides insightful details from their ongoing research about how family doctors in Portugal address family caregiver needs during dementia care office visits. Their recent qualitative study with convenience samples of family doctors, persons living with dementia, and family caregivers 2 found that both family doctors and caregivers reported that caregiver needs were assessed only rarely and that, as primary care physicians, family doctors in Portugal have insufficient time and staff resources to help caregivers unless both the person with dementia and the caregiver were under the care of the same physician.…”

“…A uniform strategy for implementing caregiver assessment clinical protocols would work especially well in countries such as Portugal and the UK, where primary care providers work for a National Health Service and care for well-defined registered populations. 1 Much less is known about how primary care providers attend to the needs of family caregivers of older adults with chronic conditions that do not include cognitive impairment but that might require substantial family member time and effort to help such older adults remain as independent as possible at home. 5 Comorbidity burden is one source of heterogeneity in primary care for older adults, 5 and family members of patients with substantial comorbidity burden could be targeted for caregiver assessment if and when they accompany their relatives to primary care visits.…”