[Mobile geriatric consultant services for rest homes. Study of the effects of consultations by internal medicine specialists in the medical care of rest home residents].

Background: Hospital admissions are frequent among long-term residents of nursing homes and can result in detrimental complications affecting the patients' somatic, psychological, and cognitive status. In this prospective controlled study, we investigated the effects of a mobile geriatric consultant service (GECO) offered by specialists in internal medicine on frequency of hospitalizations in nursing home residents.

Methods: During a 10-month observation period, residents in a control nursing home received medical attendance by general practitioners as is common in Austrian nursing homes.