[Geriatric case management at the kitchen table : Patient outcome of the pilot project for a regional geriatric care concept in the District of Lippe]

Background: The interdisciplinary healthcare treatment of the elderly needs to consider their complex needs. There is a need for new structures of care to be tested, as in the model project regional geriatric care (RVG) concept. The aim is to qualitatively improve the treatment of elderly, multimorbid people by the implementation of case management and therefore to promote living in their own home and avoidance of the necessity for care.

Objective: How can the quality of care of a geriatric care concept be measured and the benefits for the target group be evaluated?

Materials and methods: The explorative evaluation study reports patient outcomes for n = 380 participants who underwent geriatric assessment at the beginning of the intervention and again 12 months later. Descriptive and bivariate data analyses are reported.

Results: Participants of the RVG often had a greater need of support because of functional limitations. They rated their physical abilities, limitations and health mostly as being stable. The subjective mental well-being was significantly improved and satisfaction and acceptance by participants and their family members was high.

Conclusion: The RVG care model enables a qualitatively improved geriatric care in the District of Lippe and considers the high potential for prevention. For organizing care and supporting independent living at home, it is more important to focus on the functional limitations of the elderly than on individual diseases. The tested concept for evaluation has limitations but serves as a basis for future clinical studies.