A Comparison of How Generalists and Fellowship-Trained Geriatricians Provide "Geriatric" Care

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether outpatient care provided to older patients by fellowship‐trained geriatricians is distinguishable from that provided by generalists. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Three primary care clinics of an academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Random sample of 140 adults aged 65 and older receiving primary care at one of the clinics. MEASUREMENTS: A medical chart review involving records of 69 patients receiving primary care from a fellowship‐trained geriatrician and 71 patients receiving primary care from a generalist (general internal medicine or family practice) was conducted; information pertaining to two practice behaviors relevant to the care of older adults—avoidance of inappropriate prescribing and proactive assessments for geriatric syndromes—was ed. RESULTS: Geriatricians scored 17.6 out of a possible 24 points, on average; generalists scored 14.2 (P