profession
AMA guide helps doctors assess elderly patients' driving risks
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 12, 2010
Deterioration in vision, cognition and motor functioning leaves drivers 85 and older nine times likelier to die in a car crash than are drivers age 25 to 69, according to the American Medical Association. The Association has partnered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop a free guide to help physicians assess and counsel older drivers.
The guide, released in March, covers how to screen patients at risk, what medical conditions and medications can hurt driving ability and how to counsel patients who should no longer be driving. The guide is available at the AMA Web site (link).
Physicians also can request a free paper or CD-ROM edition by e-mail ([email protected]" target="_blank">link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/04/12/prbf0412.htm.












