Abstract
BACKGROUND: On the background of a found diagnostic success when using Geriatric Assessment (STEP) in General Practice, a 1-year follow-up was done. General Practitioners (GP) were asked what has been resulted from finding a “new and relevant problem”. METHOD: Semi-standardised questionnaire send to 45 GPs and asking about 894 screening patients above 70. The follow-up was not pre-announced to mind any intervention on what a GP is doing after finding “new and relevant problems” in his elderly patients. RESULTS: 23 patients answered for 490 patients with 657 “new and relevant” problems. Patients and problems were similar in comparison to the whole group. But the group of doctors taking part had more primarily German speaking doctors. 47% of the problems were approached and in 82% with success - according to the GP. More medical or technical problems were approached than psychological, mental or social problems. Reasons for not approaching were seen primarily in the problem itself and in the willingness of the patient. CONCLUSION: Geriatric assessment in General practice is diagnostically successful. And is probable that it is also therapeutically successful - judged according to GPs and surrogate parameters. But we do not know about studies using more solid data.
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