Identifying unmet needs older in older patients - Nurse-GP collaboration in general practice

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Australia's rapidly aging population has a high prevalence of chronic disease and disability, leading to an increased social and economic burden. The Enhanced Primary Care program seeks to reduce this burden by promoting preventive and coordinated care. This study aimed to identify unmet needs in community dwelling general practice patients aged 75 years and over through annual health assessments performed by a general practitioner-nurse team. METHODS: Community dwelling patients of a large suburban general practice aged 75 years and over were invited to participate. Five hundred and forty-six consecutive, eligible patients were recruited. Data were collected by GP-nurse teams on..