The Geriatric Medicine Outreach Service (GMOS) provides cross-district virtual geriatric consults to people living in rural and remote areas. It addresses the gap in specialist geriatric services available in rural and remote West and Far West NSW. Improved access to specialist geriatric care strengthens health outcomes through a multidisciplinary approach to care.
The GMOS began in the year 2000 as a partnership between Concord Hospital (Sydney Local Health District – SLHD) and the Broken Hill aged care team to improve access to specialist geriatric care in Far West Local Health District (FWLHD). In 2009, the model expanded to provide care into Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD). The service has evolved to now provide a hybrid model of face-to-face and virtual care to patients requiring access to specialist geriatricians.
People are referred by their general practitioner (GP) or community health services. A package of care is provided, which includes:
- an assessment and triage of the referral by the local aged care team
- a home visit by a WNSWLHD or FWLHD aged care clinician to complete the pre-consultation assessment, assist with the virtual consultation and to connect the patient to support services
- a virtual consultation with a SLHD geriatrician supported by the WNSWLHD or FWLHD aged care clinician to address results of the pre-consultation checklist
- a comprehensive assessment and geriatrician report sent to the patient’s GP with recommendations to support onward management and continuity of care.
SLHD provides approximately 10 virtual sessions a month across WNSWLHD and FWLHD. Two to three patients are seen each session. In 2019-20, SLHD geriatricians provided 79 virtual sessions, providing specialist geriatric consultations to 160 people within WNSWLHD and FWLHD. These were complemented by 10 face-to-face sessions in WNSWLHD where 56 patients were reviewed.
The GMOS support people at home or in residential aged care who require comprehensive specialist aged care management. It does not provide care to those who are inpatients and acutely unwell. Patient cohorts who are not clinically appropriate for this service are described in the service model on page 8. The model operates as a partnership between SLHD and the patient’s LHD (WNSWLHD or FWLHD) and is underpinned by a formal service level agreement.
Download Virtual Care: Geriatric Medicine Outreach Service (PDF 3.2 MB)
