Early detection of elderly asthenia and pre-asthenia as a result of the implementation of a model for organizing geriatric care.

The low detection rate of frailty and pre-asthenia in primary care is a serious problem. Patients rarely complain, considering the symptoms «normal for aging,» and general practitioners fail to fully examine geriatric patients in 40% of cases due to time constraints. Recently, the government has prioritized the development of geriatric care in primary care, but geriatric care in primary care has received little attention. The results of our study confirm the enormous medical and economic potential for this development. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a geriatric care model in primary care using the early detection of frailty and preasthenia followed by a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). The prospective study (2022–2024) will include 235 patients aged 60 years and older. A screening program was implemented among patients aged 60 years and older registered with a polyclinic. The geriatric questionnaire «Age is not a barrier» was used for screening, integrated into the electronic medical information system (MIS). The MIS algorithm was configured to ensure mandatory annual completion of the questionnaire for each patient in the target age group, which was monitored by a built-in logical check system. Patients who scored 3 or more points on the test results were referred to the district geriatric department for a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) to verify the diagnosis of frailty syndrome or preasthenia. Of the 235 patients examined, frailty was diagnosed in 67.2% (n=158), preasthenia in 22.1% (n=52), and no abnormalities in 10.6% (n=25). The most common geriatric syndromes were: high risk of falls (77%), cognitive impairment (56%), frailty (67%), and care dependence (93%). Implementation of the screening algorithm increased the detection of frailty by 43% compared to the previous year. The proposed two-stage screening model followed by CGA significantly increases the detection of frailty and pre-frailty in outpatient settings, enabling timely preventive interventions.