Dr. Sam on the Importance of Performing Geriatric Assessments During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Christine Sam, MD, hematologist and oncologist, assistant member, Department of Individualized Cancer Management/Senior Adult Oncology Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the importance of ​performing geriatric assessments during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic​.

​Ensuring geriatric assessments are done can be challeng​ing in ​the clinic​al setting, says Sam. ​As such, having resources ​available to conduct this testing quickly and efficiently is of critical importance.

Common techniques include ​utilizing the CRASH (Chemotherapy Risk Assessment Scale for High-Age Patients) score, which stratifies patients into 4 risk categories for severe toxicity, as well as the CARG (Cancer Aging Research Group) score, both of which can be conducted online. 

Additionally, several ​physical assessments, such as the Timed Up and Go test, have been extremely beneficial ​in assessing older patients, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam concludes.