A new ‘frailty index’ could be used to improve aged care outcomes.

The Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) has come up with the new frailty index in collaboration with Flinders University Research Fellow Dr Jyoti Khadka.

Dr Khadka says the ability to measure frailty at a population level, especially when it is a pivotal time for older Australians, should deliver broad benefits across the aged care sector.

Medically, frailty is defined as a state of increased weakness and vulnerability to adverse health outcomes including falls, injuries, dependency, hospitalisation, institutionalisation and death.

The experts say the frailty index can be incorporated into the more than 186,000 aged care eligibility assessments currently performed each year by an aged care assessment team (ACAT).

“This index can accurately predict an individual’s risk of death and the likelihood that they might need long-term residential aged care,” Dr Khadka said.

“This is extremely important information because frailty can be treated or prevented. Identifying risk enables timely treatment through relatively simple means such as diet and physical and mental exercises.”

Professor Renuka Visvanathan, internationally recognised expert in geriatric medicine, says it could be incredibly useful.

“The assessment of a person’s frailty at this important time in their aged care journey can be used to flag those who might benefit from additional support to lower their risk of adverse events like hospitalisation,” she said.

“There is increasing interest for assessment programs which use electronic systems such as our Australian aged care eligibility assessments, which is supported by My Aged Care. This can produce a frailty risk score by the end of an assessment with the older person.”

The frailty index was developed using historical data involving more than 900,000 older Australians. The process behind its development has been published in the Medical Journal of Australia.