Deferred Care Session 3 - chronic disease management, healthy ageing and palliative care

The pandemic has seen huge numbers of patients delaying or cancelling usual – and even urgent – care.

This interactive webinar is the third in our series of deferred care sessions. It will explore the impact of deferred care on the population aged 65 years and older and the following topics: 

• The impact of COVID-19 on GP presentations for older populations. 
• Issues for older Australians in a ‘post-pandemic’ COVID-19 environment. 
• 75-year health assessments and how to use them effectively. 
• End of life care and advanced care planning – bringing palliative care forward in disease trajectory.  

The session will include an overview of statistics, implications of COVID-19 on healthy ageing for older populations and achievable strategies for improving care. Presenters will provide realistic and easy-to-implement strategies on how to move forward from the crisis phase of the pandemic and incorporate regular health care and wellness back into primary care. 

We will also provide resources and information on the best local services to connect with for support and referral. 

Speakers 

Experienced primary care clinician  Dr Terence Ahern and practice nurse Natalie Simpson-Stewart will present this session. 

Dr Terence Ahern is a GP and completed a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Melbourne 1976. He has special interests in aged care, general medicine, adolescent health and male health. 

Natalie Simpson Stewart has 15 years’ nursing experience in various settings including defence, community and primary care. Natalie has a passion for chronic disease management, using digital health and tools to efficiently manage patient care, and has a longstanding history of successful immunisation clinics. 

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this session you will be able to  

• describe implications of COVID-19 on healthy aging for older population groups 
• recognise challenges for older people in a post-pandemic environment 
• implement strategies for effectively re-engaging older people with primary care.