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FRY CONSULTANTS INCORPORATED

Health Care Practice
2100 Powers Ferry Road
Suite 125
Atlanta, GA  30339 USA

T: 1-770-226-8888

F:1-770-226-8899

  Email:         Garland Fritts

  The Webmistress
Quiz II

 Congratulations! By answering questions 1 thru 7 with a "Yes",you are a long way toward being a User-Friendly Institution, and you have accumulated 48 points

8.

Have access to and manage patients within a continuum of care that includes inpatient, outpatient, subacute, rehab, home health, congregate living, adult day care, respite care, assisted living, and skilled nursing? (All services need not be owned or operated by your institution.)

 Yes 8 pts.

 No 0 pts.

9.

Regularly conduct geriatric pre-op consults (inpatient)?

 Yes 4 pts.

 No 0 pts.

10.

Actively minimize the use of physical and chemical restraints on older patients (inpatient)?

 Yes 4 pts.

 No 0 pts.

11.

Ensure the appropriate use of catheters for patients rather than as a "crutch" for caregivers (inpatient)?

 Yes 4 pts.

 No 0 pts.

12.

Use special mattresses and related care for older patients with skin sensitivities (inpatient)?

 Yes 4 pts.

 No 0 pts.

13.

Hold regular meetings of continuum care component members?

 Yes 4 pts.

 No 0 pts.

14.

Conduct or ensure availability of educational meetings for the elderly and their caregivers in the community, e.g., support groups, seminars, health fairs, etc.?

 Yes 4 pts.

 No 0 pts.

15.

Provide or ensure the availability of counsel on living wills, healthcare Powers of Attorney, personal preferences, etc.?

 Yes 4 pts.

 No 0 pts.

16.

Conduct gero-psych evaluations by trained professionals?

 Yes 4 pts.

 No 0 pts.

17.

Provide eating area for small groups of older adult patients (inpatient) for at least one meal per day?

 Yes 2 pts.

 No 0 pts.

18.

Have a dedicated older adult unit (inpatient) where the staff is trained in geriatric care and such factors as safe environment, bright colors, large clock numerals, etc. have been incorporated?

 Yes 2 pts.

 No 0 pts.

19.

Provide a resource center for healthcare information for the elderly, their caregivers and their providers?

 Yes 2 pts.

 No 0 pts.

20.

Provide continuum of care services for absentee family members?

 Yes 2 pts.

 No 0 pts.

21.

Have an organizational senior/geriatric service line?

 Yes 2 pts.

 No 0 pts.

22.

Provide a senior affinity program?

 Yes 1 pt.

 No 0 pts.

23.

Have a senior/geriatric website or have a major dedicated area on the institution's website?

 Yes 1 pt.

 No 0 pts.

 

 

 

 

 

As indicated at the beginning of this self-questionnaire, if you answered any one of the first seven questions "No", then your institution is not user-friendly for the elderly, regardless of the remaining score. An explanation of why that is so is contained in Chapter IV, "The Ultimate in User-Friendliness for the Aging Population".

By answering the first seven questions positively, you accumulated 48 points and have all the elements necessary for building a strong and competitive geriatric service line.  Your services will be enhanced immeasurably by having all the components for the continuum in question #8.  You can get by without some of these but it is not in the best interest of your patients. Again, remember that not all of these components need to be controlled by your institution; it is only important that you know that each component is performing quality services and that your patients have access to the ones they need.

A perfect score is 100, and we know of no healthcare institution in the country that can score 100 on this test. A score of 72 is certainly a user-friendly score; very few hospitals or health systems in the country can score a 72.  That said, it behooves healthcare providers to become more user-friendly for the aging population.  Legal actions, new regulations and premature deaths will be the result of not doing so.

From another viewpoint, failure to become user-friendly may actually bring forces to bear that will increase Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement levels. Even though those levels need to be raised, we would hate to think that any healthcare institution or association would use the aging population as pawns in a lobbying game!

Be sure to see Chapter III, Impact of Fragmented Healthcare, about the impact of not fulfilling the healthcare needs of the elderly, as well as Chapter IV, "The Ultimate in User-Friendliness for the Aging Population", about what to do about it.

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