Don't keep this under your hat!
News of the new Geriatric Consultation Clinics at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson made it into the May issue of Sombrero (see page 9), the magazine of the Pima County Medical Society.
The service, led by Paul Gee, MD, and Ana Sanguineti, MD, physicians in the University of Arizona Division of Geriatrics, General Internal Medicine and Palliative Medicine (GGP), started April 1. Dr. Gee is available for consults Wednesday mornings and Dr. Sanguineti is available on Thursday mornings.
“We hope that you will consider consulting us in the care of your complex patients, 70 years of age or older, for whom our opinion would be of benefit. We are trained in the diagnosis and management of geriatric syndromes and conditions, such as dementia, frailty, weight loss, depression, insomnia, multimorbidity, polypharmacy and falls,” said Drs. Gee and Sanguineti.
“Our approach is to see your patient for one to several visits while clearly supporting your role as the patient’s primary care provider. We will send you our letter of consultation promptly and contact you by phone if necessary. Our goal is to provide your patients with the highest value care possible. Since this is a consultation clinic, patients will need a referral from their physician in order to be seen.”
The clinic is located in the UA Department of Medicine’s Multispecialty Outpatient Adult Medicine Physician Offices on the Sixth Floor (6OPC). All physician consultation requests must include the patient’s name, date of birth, contact information and reason for the referral. Banner – UMC physicians can utilize Epic to enter referral data under “Ambulatory Geriatrics.” Community physicians outside the Banner system can fax referrals to GGP medical assistant, Alma Mares, at (520) 874-7009.
Dr. Sanguineti also holds a Primary Care Clinic for patients age 65-plus at 6OPC on Tuesday afternoon. A similar 6OPC clinic on Tuesday mornings will start soon with Corinne Self, MD, who will also hold a Geriatric Consultation Clinic on Tuesday afternoons at 6OPC and Thursday mornings at the Banner - UMC South Adult Health Services Clinic, 2800 E. Ajo Way (in the building east of the hospital's main entrance). Through June 2016, a Primary Care Clinic for patients age 65-plus will be held at 6OPC. Call (520) 694-4000 to schedule an appointment.