Nursing home visits: an efficient system for the busy physician.

For their patients who enter a nursing home, physicians need to know how to perform an efficient and effective visit. With a structured, methodical approach the initial and follow-up visits can be done within 15 minutes per patient. Each visit can include review of diagnoses and medications; input from the patient, nursing staff, and families; vital signs and weights; physical exam; lab results; and review of the interdisciplinary care plan. An assessment that genuinely contributes to the care plan will enhance the physician's effectiveness and satisfaction in long-term care practice.