Driving assessments for older adult patients: Interviews with general practitioners to gauge current strategies and future directions

Background and objectives: General practitioners (GPs) in New South Wales are required to perform annual medical assessments of driving fitness in patients aged 75 years or older. The objective of this study was to understand GPs’ attitudes towards driving assessments and to highlight guideline limitations and possible solutions.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews with a sample of 10 GPs were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed.

Results: The key themes that emerged were challenges GPs face with the current driving fitness assessment, techniques used to overcome these challenges, and the process of negotiating with patients.

Discussion: The findings highlighted the need for further support of GPs and for more statistical evidence of driving risks. Key areas of uncertainty were applying licence restrictions, calculating the sum of effects of comorbidities and assessment of new patients. This study might prompt consideration of a range of supports to assist GP decision making, as well as contribute to a decision aid for older drivers.