Assessing the effectiveness of geriatric services: a proposed methodology. Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination

This article presents an explicit and systematic methodology, adapted from the practices of the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination, for assessing the effectiveness of geriatric services in managing specific diseases and disabilities. The five steps in the process are as follows: (1) the identification of target diseases and disabilities, (2) the development of a specific service model for each target condition, (3) the establishment of criteria that must be satisfied for service procedures to be considered effective, (4) a review of the evidence from published clinical research to determine whether service procedures meet the criteria and (5) the classification of recommendations based on the strength of the evidence. These methods can enhance scientific standards for assessing effectiveness by encouraging a systematic, comprehensive and objective evaluation of the evidence.