Read more about the project here.
The Frailty Assessment of Older Canadians Using Emergency Services (FOCUS) study tested the real-world implementation of a user-friendly tablet based technology to identify high-risk older adults with frailty or problems with their thinking such as delirium or dementia.
The study checked whether the FOCUS tablet technology correctly identifies older patients who are at risk for loss of function. We also took the first steps in testing whether patients identified as high risk by the FOCUS tablet benefit from referral to community services.
The FOCUS study has a proven screening tool that has been tested in three provinces (Ontario, Québec and Nova Scotia), including rural and urban settings, in French and English, and for use by paramedics in the patient’s home as well as in the emergency department.
Jacques Lee, MD, MSc, FRCPC is a practicing emergency services staff physician and scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto. Dr. Lee is also the Director of Research for the Department of Emergency Services at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Additionally, Dr. Lee is an assistant professor, clinician scientist, and just retired as director of resident scholarly activities in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto after 15 years. Dr. Lee received his MD from the University of Alberta, completed his fellowship training in Emergency Medicine and obtained his MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from McGill University, and completed a fellowship in Emergency Medicine Research at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Lee’s research focuses on improving the care of older adults who need Emergency services.