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The Clinician’s Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers, 4th Edition is published by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) as a service to healthcare providers involved in the care of older adults. This 4th edition is an update of the 3rd edition to the current state of the literature, with a continued focus on the interprofessional nature of the team caring for an older adult driver. This edition is the result of a cooperative agreement between AGS and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Clinician’s Guide is available in two formats once you log in, a digital text accessed through your browser and a downloadable PDF.

The guide offers recommendations, tools, and resources for the clinical team involved in the care of older adults for use in multiple care settings by providing: 1) A clinically based assessment of medical fitness to drive, presented in the algorithm Plan for Older Drivers’ Safety (PODS). 2) A toolbox of practical, office-based functional assessment tests for driving-related skills, the Clinical Assessment of Driving Related Skills (CADReS) (see Chapter 3). 3) The clinical team can choose among these tests, depending on the outcomes of screening tests and the individual older adult’s abilities (see Chapter 2). 4) Information to help navigate the legal and ethical issues regarding patient driving safety, including information on patient reporting, with a State-by-State list of licensing agency contact information, and additional resources for locating license renewal criteria and reporting laws and procedures (see Chapters 7 and 8). 5) A reference listing of medical conditions and medications that may affect driving, with specific recommendations for each (see Chapter 9). 6) Recommended Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for assessment and counseling procedures (see Appendix A). 7) Handouts for older adults and their caregivers that include a self-screening tool for driving safety, safe driving tips, driving alternatives, and a resource sheet for concerned caregivers (see Appendix B). 8) Links for accessing recommended resources from reputable organizations are also provided. Sample approaches in subsequent chapters for conversations about driving assessment, rehabilitation, restriction, and cessation.

Source: American Geriatrics Society, 2019
https://www.americangeriatrics.org/