Use of Standardized Assessment Instruments:
PCC Comprehensive Elder Exam
The PCC Comprehensive Elder Exam provides a guide to comprehensive geriatric assessment for the individual provider. The goal of the form is to allow the provider to approximate the interdisciplinary team evaluation. In doing so it should make comprehensive geriatric assessment accessible to all older adults.
Experience with the PCC Comprehensive Elder Exam in Zuni indicates that the complete assessment with targeted physical exam can be done in about 45 minutes. With a well older adult, the exam can be completed in 30 minutes; with a very sick or frail older adult, the exam will take longer. Pre-screening the chart and noting the dates of completion of the health care maintenance items between the bold lines on the right border improves efficiency. The Comprehensive Elder Exam can also be used by Community Health Nurses, Community Health Aides and Community Health Representatives as part of a community-based assessment.
The PCC Comprehensive Elder Exam guides the practitioner through a high quality geriatric assessment and makes this process available to all older adults.
Before using these tools with Alaska Native older adults, evaluate for:
- Adequacy and appropriateness of the English version
- The patient’s educational level
- The older adult’s fluency with the language
- The population norm used to standardize the tool
- The appropriateness of the format (e.g., how questions are formulated— intrusive vs. non-intrusive)
