Frailty Frontline: How to identify frailty, and what to do next

In this episode of GEMCast, host Dr. Christina Shenvi is joined by Dr. James Van Oppen, emergency physician and frailty expert at the University of Sheffield, to discuss the rising importance of frailty in emergency medicine. Frailty, defined as the loss of physiological resilience, is both common and clinically significant for older adults presenting to the emergency department (ED). The two discuss what frailty means, how it can be identified, and how to approach ED assessment and management in a frail patient, emphasizing the value of person-centred care. Furthermore, they highlight recent studies regarding frailty, which can be found in the resources below, and discuss the need for system-wide changes to support frailty care. Alongside his work as an emergency physician and clinical lecturer, Dr. van Oppen is the chair of the geriatric emergency medicine section of the European Society of Emergency Medicine. Tune in to this episode to expand your understanding of frailty and hear some practical tips to improve your clinical practice.