Frailty in family practice/primary health care: Care and management

Abstract

Frailty as a geriatric syndrome has been rediscovered in recent years and has been added to the mainstream literature of medicine. Even this condition is more managed by geriatric teams in well-equipped rehabilitation hospitals; the primary care team could contribute very well to frailty as an important stakeholder. Recent pro-active experimental models at the community level are promising, and in the future, the involvement of primary health care teams will be inevitable. The development of valid, reliable, and easy applicable diagnostic tools; recommendation on evidence-based treatment; innovative casemanagement and care models; and new work/professional definitions will improve health outcomes of ageing people and their caregivers in the community. This will be primarily an essential issue for industrialising and developing countries, who are aging at high locity.