What you'll learn in this expert session
It's a very common scenario. The general practice patient who through age, cognitive decline or chronic disease or all three, gradually diminishes over time. Frailty becomes a feature and their ability to manage spirals downward sometimes slowly over a period of years, sometimes dramatically after falls, fractures or other health events. We cannot stop time, but as Geriatrician Dr Desmond Graham explains, we can intervene and help prevent falls, fractures and many other factors that contribute to frailty. In his talk, Dr Graham provides a practical, systematic approach to assessing at-risk patients and recommends where appropriate, interventions that are most likely to be effective.
Learning Objectives:
- Define frailty and recognise its signs
- Identify the risks of frailty from the pre-frail stages
- Assess baseline levels of functioning and cognitive ability
- Establish goals of care with people at risk of declining frailty
- Liaise with a geriatric multidisciplinary team for frailty care
About the Expert
Dr Desmond Graham
Dr Desmond Graham is a Geriatrician who graduated from the University of Newcastle and completed specialty training at Westmead and North Shore Hospitals.
He is actively involved with the Australia and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine and holds an academic appointment as a Clinical Lecturer with the University of Sydney.
