Long-Term Care: The Need for Geriatric Assessment in Publicly Funded Home
and Community-Based Programs (Testimony, 04/14/94, GAO/T-PEMD-94-20).

Because of advances in medicine and public health, Americans are living
longer than ever before. Nearly one in every eight Americans were 65
years of age or older in 1990; by 2020, this ratio is expected to rise
to one in five.  To maintain their independence, many elderly need daily
help with routine activities, such as bathing, dressing, shopping, and
meal preparation.  Home and community-based long-term care for the
elderly is today financed and run through a host of federal and state
programs.  This fragmentation can result in elderly persons being
reevaluated every time they apply for a new program or pass a particular
milestone, such as being discharged from a hospital.  Despite this
potential for redundancy, geriatric assessment is a potentially useful
part of any program with frail elderly clients seeking community and
home-based long-term care.  This testimony discusses (1) what geriatric
evaluation is and how it is used, (2) the extent to which it is
available in public programs, (3) the professional requirements for
persons who administer it, and (4) the pros and cons of standardizing
the evaluation process.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-PEMD-94-20
     TITLE:  Long-Term Care: The Need for Geriatric Assessment in 
             Publicly Funded Home and Community-Based Programs
      DATE:  04/14/94
   SUBJECT:  Elder care
             Long-term care
             Elderly persons
             State-administered programs
             Medicare programs
             Human resources utilization
             Federal/state relations
             Surveys
             Health care planning
             Home health care services
IDENTIFIER:  Social Services Block Grant
             Medicaid Home and Community-Based Waiver Program
             Health Security Act
             Clinton Health Care Plan
             National Health Care Reform Initiative
             
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