To assess to what extent family physicians perform the maneuvers for elderly patients recommended by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTF), and to compare physicians' performance among patients who had structured periodic health examinations with performance among those who did not.
Retrospective chart audit.
Family practice unit in a secondary care, university-affiliated hospital in Toronto, Ont.
Records of 136 community-dwelling patients aged 70 and older. Of 340 randomly selected charts, 108 were excluded and 51 were inaccessible; 100 had had PHEs, and a random sample of 36 who had attended the clinic three or more times was chosen from the remaining 81 [corrected].
Proportion of patients who received the recommended screening maneuvers.
Charts were audited for 100 patients who had structured periodic health examinations and 36 who did not but who attended the clinic three or more times during an 18-month period. Screening rates among patients who had structured examinations ranged from 28% of patients screened for hearing impairment to 100% screened for hypertension. Patients who did not have structured examinations were significantly less likely to receive screening maneuvers.
Screening rates were below desirable levels in patients older than 70 years. Screening during structured health examinations seems to be more effective than opportunistic screening for patients 70 and older.
Notes
Cites: J Fam Pract. 1998 May;46(5):419-249598000
Cites: CMAJ. 1998 Jan 27;158(2):185-939469139
Cites: J Fam Pract. 1998 Sep;47(3):202-89752372
Cites: CMAJ. 1999 Apr 20;160(8):1137-4010234343
Cites: Med Care. 1998 Jun;36(6):851-679630127
Cites: J Fam Pract. 1981 Apr;12(4):657-607205168
Cites: South Med J. 1981 Mar;74(3):265-717221623
Cites: J Med Educ. 1983 Jul;58(7):576-806864746
Cites: Am J Public Health. 1983 Sep;73(9):1036-96881398
Cites: JAMA. 1984 Oct 12;252(14):1905-76471323
Cites: Can Med Assoc J. 1985 May 1;132(9):1013-53986725