Improving geriatric care and reducing hospitalisations in regional and remote areas: The benefits of telehealth.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two geriatrician models of care, the telegeriatric service (TGS) and visiting geriatrician (VG), in regional and remote settings in terms of potential cost-savings to the health system and impact on health service use (HSU). Furthermore, to establish whether longer wait-times for clinic appointments led to increased HSU by study participants.

Methods: Trends in patient emergency department presentations, hospitalisations and bed-days (HSU) were compared from 18 months before to 12 months after geriatrician appointment for the two services in the Western Australian Midwest region.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in vitamin D-insufficient hip fracture patients after supplementation with ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol.

Vitamin D insufficiency is commonly associated with hip fracture. However, the equipotency of ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol supplementation in this patient group has not been studied in a randomized trial using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD). The objective of this study was to determine if ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol are equipotent therapies in vitamin D-insufficient hip fracture patients.

Development of a telemedicine protocol for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

We developed a telemedicine protocol for diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Assessments by video-conferencing (remote) were compared with face to face (direct) assessments. Eight physicians performed direct assessments and two physicians conducted remote assessments.

Issues of methodology, standardization and metabolite recognition for 25-hydroxyvitamin D when comparing the DiaSorin radioimmunoassay and the Nichols Advantage automated chemiluminescence protein-binding assay in hip fracture cases.

Background: Deficiency of vitamin D is commonly associated with hip fracture and treatment with vitamin D reduces hip fracture rates. Consequently, the demand for assays to measure 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) has increased. The Nichols Advantage chemiluminescence protein-binding assay (CLPBA) for 25-OHD is a first-generation automated immunoassay with decreased turnaround time, reduced manual handling and non-radioactive label.