Springboard message from Dr. Bachman

This week on hospital service we had a 95 year old frail male with evidence of a GI Bleed.  What to do?
This article gave some insight. It was found in JAMA about the elderly. It has an excellent review on dealing with the frail elderly.  HERE
This shows the life expectancy of older patients. HERE
 
There are some excellent tables on screening questions and suggestions. The accompaning commentary showed what prevention services Medicare provide <<Medicare.pdf>>  
Finally the third article was useful in that it gave a rational approach to making decisions in the elderly about mammography.
HERE
*Conference on Practice Improvement: Assembling the Patient-centered
Team*
December 2-5, 2010  *  San Antonio, Texas
Conference Web site: http://www.stfm.org/pic
Submission Deadline:  March 15, 2010
In our progress in building the Medical Home at the 2009 Practice
Improvement Conference, an important theme surfaced: the need for
improved patient-centered care and the value of the well coordinated
multidisciplinary team.
The time constraints of modern medical care demand an evidence based
team effort that divides the workload in a manner that utilizes the
strengths of various team members to provide accurate, efficient, and
timely care of the patient. This can only be successful through
appropriate training and experiences which assure the involvement of
patients and their families in active planning of their own care.
The Conference on Practice Improvement is designed to continue the
process of illustrating the development of the medical home model. The
conference is an opportunity for demonstrating possible means of
implementing the various components of the medical home.  Conference
presentations are designed to provide exceptional group interaction,
discussion and evaluation to help formulate improved strategies.  Also,
the conference provides wonderful networking opportunities through
special interest breakfasts, dine-outs and receptions.
Submit your valuable work online at www.stfm.org/pic.  Submissions
directed to nurses, medical assistants, dietitians, coordinators, and
patient educators are welcomed.  Submissions are encouraged at both
basic and advanced levels. Presentations should be designed to provide
practical advice and resources for both private practice and teaching
programs. Submissions will be evaluated for applicability to real world
settings. Works in progress are encouraged as long as they provide take
home lessons for attendees.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please
contact Dianna Azbill at STFM at 800-274-7928, ext. 5415 or
dazbill@stfm.org.
This is an exciting time in health care, and we look forward to
receiving and reviewing your submissions for presentation at the 2010
Conference in San Antonio!
Roger Shewmake, PhD, LN
2010 Conference Chair