Clinical activities of out-of-hospital Italian public geriatrics: a survey of members of the Italian Society of Geriatrics Hospital and Territory

The out-of-hospital public geriatrician is a key professional figure to address the challenges of the complexity of old patients and to act as a bridge between general and local medical services and increasingly crowded hospitals. This is a distinctive geriatrician in Italy who works mostly in the territory and intermediate care, capable of mediating the transition of the setting and following the patient in their home care. To have an overview of the current state of activities outside the hospital, distributed across the national territory, we conducted an online survey addressed to all Italian Society of Geriatrics Hospital and Territory (SIGOT) out-of-hospital members by email and disseminated it using SIGOT social channels. The questionnaire, available from June to September 2024, specifically addressed general characteristics/demographics of the members and the peculiarities of the activities inherent to home visits, multidimensional assessment, telemedicine, contact and collaboration with the general practitioner, and personal opinions (free field). A total of 67 out-of-hospital geriatricians responded to the survey. The results emphasize the specificity of the out-of-hospital geriatrician’s role and underline the collaboration between geriatricians and general practitioners, the importance of the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, and the relevance of domiciliary care. At the same time, this survey points out some critical issues, such as the lack of development of telemedicine in clinical practice and a long waiting time for a programmable (P-priority) first geriatric visit.