Physicians Unlikely to Refer Older Patients to Geriatricians
By Richard Shank
A new study recently unveiled at the 2009 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society reports that attending hospital-based physicians and other “non-attending” clinicians are unlikely to refer older patients to geriatricians.
However, the reluctance to refer geriatricians is not related to professional expertise or proper care choices: One-third of respondents reported having limited or no training in geriatrics and less than one-half felt comfortable treating the frail elderly or persons with dementia.
Rather, the reluctance to refer older patients to geriatricians is related more to a predominate fear of losing a patient to another physician, as reported by over 80% of physicians in the study. These findings hint at the possibility that competition between doctors can undermine the quality of care, especially if untrained and unconfident physicians are treating chronically ill and frail older adults, rather than referring them to specialized services.
In response, the American Geriatrics Society issued a follow-up survey to its members, with the goal of producing a profile of the older adults who would be better served by a geriatrician. This profile could then help educate attending physicians, to inspire more referrals to adequate services.
Source: Press Release. American Geriatrics Society. May 1, 2009. http://www.americangeriatrics.org/news/referring042409.shtml
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