The rationale for geriatric assessment programs includes a reduction in nursing home admissions, improved health outcomes and improved physical function. However the evidence for these benefits may not be directly transferable to all models of geriatric assessment programs. This study is a review of published studies of most relevance to aged care assessment teams with regard to one important outcome, nursing home admission. However the conclusions are limited in that no studies are directly comparable to the situation in which aged care assessment teams function. In addition, traditional outcome measures may not be appropriate in considering the effectiveness of similar models of geriatric assessment.