Aims:
Older adults in Bowen, Queensland, face significant barriers to specialist geriatric care, leading to delayed diagnoses, fragmented care, and preventable hospital admissions. High rates of chronic diseases, including dementia, further complicate management. Limited community-based support disrupts continuity of care. This initiative integrates virtual geriatric expertise into acute, subacute, and chronic care settings to improve access and outcomes.
Methods:
Geriatric Care Australia (GCA) partnered with Bowen Health Service to implement a virtual geriatrician service:
· Acute Care: Geriatricians join twice-weekly Multidisciplinary Team Meetings, providing inpatient reviews and specialist input.
· Subacute Care: Regular consultations with the Frail Aged Care Nurse Practitioner Service (FACNP) support recently discharged patients and triage community reviews.
· Chronic Care: Ongoing follow-ups enable Comprehensive Geriatric Assessments, medication optimisation, and collaboration with primary care for long-term support.
Implementation focused on stakeholder engagement, structured care pathways, and staff education to enhance collaboration.
Results:
Improved specialist care, hospital admissions, and dementia management.
· Acute Setting: 100% of reviewed inpatients received community follow-up; key interventions included medication reconciliation (23%), discharge planning (23%), cognitive assessments (22%), and behavioural support (9%).
· Community Setting: Patients seen were three times less likely to require admission. Medication adjustments occurred in 12% of cases, and cognitive impairment diagnoses increased by 50.3%, supporting earlier intervention.
· Staff confidence in geriatric management improved, enhancing decision-making.
Conclusions:
This model integrates specialist expertise into existing workflows, ensuring sustainability through training, leadership development, and telehealth. Scalable to other regional areas, it strengthens local healthcare teams and improves aged care access.