[Screening the risk for functional loss: a basic strategy for organizing the elderly health care network].

From a critical analysis of experiments in the use of screening tools for functional loss in the elderly, it was observed that the main motivation to develop and implement a screening instrument is to improve health care for the frail elderly or those at risk of functional loss and repeated hospital admissions. The instruments are preferably short questionnaires with no more than 16 self-reported questions. The main intervention performed after screening was monitoring the elderly by a specialized nursing service that, when necessary, referring them to the medical service. The results of this approach included the reduction of functional loss, hospital admissions, deaths, lower health expenses and greater consumer satisfaction.