ABSTRACT
The functional assessment of moderately or severely dependent older people encompasses social, psychological and biological aspects that may influence their quality of life and their degree of independence. This paper reviews the global geriatric assessment that should be performed in primary health care (PHC) for moderately or severely dependent older people. Since 2012 in PHC in Chile, the norm establishes that the degree of independence of older people should be assessed using the Barthel scale and caregiver stress should be evaluated using Zarit scale. People with severe disability should receive home care. We recommend to evaluate also cognitive aspects using the minimental state examination (MMSE) to Barthel Index or using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), since they are closely associated with functional capacity.