VAOIG Inspection of VA Clinicians' Geriatric Assessment Skills

Healthcare Inspection - Hospitalized Community-Dwelling Elderly Veterans: Cognitive and Functional Assessments and Follow-up after Discharge 03/06/10. OIG evaluated the extent to which Veterans Health Administration clinicians conduct assessments of elderly patients during hospitalization and ensure post-discharge follow-up care. Reviewers evaluated records for the presence of functional and cognitive assessments which are widely accepted as a basic level of care for vulnerable elders. We found that assessments of functional status were completed for more than 97 percent of hospitalized elders and that most elder veterans (94 percent) had some evidence of care in the six weeks after hospital discharge. In contrast, less than 40 percent of patients had evidence of any cognitive assessment during their hospitalization or in the six months prior to admission. OIG recommended that the Under Secretary for Health develop and implement a plan to ensure that vulnerable elderly veterans admitted to VA hospitals have a documented assessment of cognitive functioning. VAOIG