Key challenges in studying organizational issues in the delivery of healthcare to older Americans.
OBJECTIVE
Drawing from the articles presented in this special issue, to provide an overview of three key challenges facing researchers in the area of organizational issues in primary care delivery to older adults.


CONCLUSIONS
To improve the quality of research done in this area we would recommend that researchers attend to the complexity of (1) defining an appropriate unit of analysis; (2) reframing our traditional models of service delivery to reflect ongoing changes in healthcare system actors and boundaries; and (3) reconceptualizing the outcomes of care to reflect adequately the reality of care for the aging patient.
Fennell
M L
ML
Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University, USA.
Flood
A B
AB
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D014481:United States