Table 1 Outline of organizational, training, and care path differences between historical and orthogeriatric cohort
From: The impact of an orthogeriatric intervention in patients with fragility fractures: a cohort study
Activities | Traditional orthopaedic care | Orthogeriatric care | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Â | Patients with hip fractures | Patients with other fragility fractures | Patients with hip and other fragility fractures |
Interprofessional conference | None | None | Interprofessional team meetings every weekday. |
Ward round | The geriatrician attended the ward 2 × 1 h per week, reading patient medical records and recommending further medical examination and treatment. The orthopaedic consultant was responsible for patient treatment. | The orthopaedic consultant had the sole responsibility for patient treatment | The geriatrician attended the ward every day Monday to Friday. The geriatrician and orthopaedic consultant shared responsibility for patients. They attended to patients according to medical importance. |
Treatment | Routine prescription of calcium and vitamin D and fall prevention, when relevant | No routine prescriptions | Systematic prescription of calcium and vitamin D and fall prevention, when relevant. Systematic orthostatic blood-pressure measurement; routine blood tests concerning medical status. |
Follow-up round | None | None | Follow-up rounds each afternoon by the geriatrician and orthopaedic consultant. Follow-up on x-ray, blood tests, subacute matters, etc. |
Training facilities in the ward | None | None | A dedicated room with exercise equipment used for group and individual training, Monday to Friday |
Physiotherapy | Individual training and evaluating walking aids (mean time 140 min per patient per admission) | Individual training and evaluating walking aids (time not assessed). | Daily individual training and group training and evaluating walking aids (mean time 250 min per hip patient during admission). |
Occupational therapy | Assistance requested to evaluate the need for daily living aids. ADL assistance was offered to 2–3 patients per week | No ADL assistance | Evaluation of the need for daily living and occupational therapy (ADL) was offered to all patients thought able to benefit from it (five patients per week). |
Nutritional therapy | Assistance requested to develop nutrition plans (five minutes per patient) | No support from dieticians | Attending conferences, assessing patients’ nutritional status, and developing nutrition plans. |
Discharge planning | Early discharge planning. Report sent to the municipality for all patients with established contact. Video conference when major changes were needed. | Early discharge planning. Report was sent to the municipality for all patients with established contact. Video conference when major changes were needed. | Early discharge planning. Report was sent to the municipality for all patients with established contact. Video conference when major changes were needed. |
Staff training | No specific training | No specific training | A 6 × 3-h course for carers in orthogeriatric care and medical knowledge including sessions on preventing, detecting, and treating various medical complications. |