Assessing functional abilities of elderly outpatients.
There is an important and necessary distinction to be made between the delivery of medical services and the furnishing of comprehensive health care. Both medical service (or that which makes life possible) and comprehensive health care (or that which makes life worthwhile) directly enhance the self-esteem and functional ability of elderly patients. In programs of care for the elderly, practitioners must develop an understanding of the impact that various body systems as well as the social system have on the patient if the programs are to be effective. This study has attempted to provide a comprehensive understanding of the functional capacity of elderly patients seen in the General Medicine Outpatient Clinic at the University of Utah Medical Center, Salt Lake City. Implications drawn from this multidimensional functional assessment have led to recommendations for appropriate service delivery along with a better understanding of how the elderly function and what they need. Assessment techniques such as OARS questionnaire used in this study are invaluable in helping caregivers understand and plan for the comprehensive health care needs of the elderly. As more programs make use of data derived from assessment procedures like the one described here, the overall quality of life for the elderly should improve.
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006304:Health Status; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014589:Utah