Increasing Identification of Vulnerable Elderly in the Community Utilizing the Electronic Health Record

Project Description Narrative:

While at least 30% of family physicians’ outpatient practices involve caring for individuals 65 and older, training for the chronic illnesses this population faces is reported to be inadequate. The recent development and use of computerized templates for several geriatric chronic conditions has been successful in helping physicians identify conditions that put older patients at risk.

This project will develop and evaluate an Electronic Health Record (HER) template that prompts family medicine residents and faculty to identify geriatric conditions that put elderly patients at risk for death and functional decline. Once the template is developed, it will be piloted with resident physicians and residency program physicians will be educated in its use and implementation. The template will be evaluated for its impact on the care of vulnerable elderly patients, and hopefully will result in improved patient care outcomes and quality of life.