Geriatrics is the specialty that focuses on the high-quality, person-centered care that we all need as we age. Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty that focuses on addressing the unique health needs of older adults. The term geriatrics has its origin in the Greek words geriatron, meaning elderly, and iatros, meaning healer. Its objective is to promote health through the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases in older adults. Older adults may be healthy, but they are more likely to have chronic health problems and to need more medical care.
There is no definite age after which patients can be under the care of a geriatrician or a geriatric doctor, a doctor who specializes in caring for the elderly. Rather, this decision is guided by the individual needs of patients and the care structures available to them. This care can benefit those who are managing multiple chronic conditions or who suffer from significant age-related complications that endanger the quality of daily life. Geriatric care may be appropriate if care responsibilities become increasingly stressful or medically complex for family and caregivers to manage independently. Geriatricians are primary care doctors who have additional specialized training in treating older patients.
They may practice in outpatient settings, nursing facilities or hospitals. The term “geriatric” is often misunderstood, but it plays a crucial role in health care. Its scope is specific to the care of the elderly, distinct from other medical practices. Geriatric care focuses on the unique needs and challenges of older adults, and sets it apart from standard adult care.
This discipline encompasses a wide range of services, from preventive care to the treatment of complex medical conditions common in old age. Geriatric evaluation should include a detailed medical history and physical exam, focusing especially on problems specific to older people, such as vision, hearing, nutrition, fall prevention, urinary incontinence, osteoporosis and preventive health. Geriatric syndromes are a term used to describe a group of clinical conditions that have a high prevalence in older people. Health professionals use age bias by not offering treatment to an older adult simply based on their age and not on factors such as expected life expectancy, quality of life and patient preferences. Geriatric medicine plays a vital role in treating chronic diseases, preventing disability and ensuring the dignity and quality of life of older people.
This approach allows doctors to better understand and manage the complexity of diseases that often co-exist in patients of advanced age. The development of any new signs or symptoms in the elderly may be due to adverse effects of medications. However, it is also one of the important IADLs that help older patients maintain mobility and participate socially. It is important to understand the physical changes and manifestations of the disease typical of geriatric patients that accompany old age to avoid negative and harmful stereotypes about older adults that characterize age discrimination and can negatively affect patients' care and quality of life.
Doctors in geriatrics centers are highly trained specialists who have specific experience caring for older patients, who often have multiple chronic conditions, or who may be confused or fragile. Up to 15% of the elderly population living in the community is affected by malnutrition, which is associated with a deterioration in physical health, such as poor wound healing, anemia, immune dysfunction, etc. Older people generally want to live independently for as long as possible, which requires that they be able to engage in personal care and other activities of daily living. Elderly patients can receive care related to medication administration, pain management, psychiatric and memory care, rehabilitation, long-term nursing care, nutrition, and different forms of therapy, including physical, occupational, and speech.
Patients who fail the screening test should be referred to an otolaryngologist so that they may need a hearing aid. This activity describes the evaluation of several domains of geriatric evaluation and highlights the role of the interprofessional team in the treatment of elderly patients. Therefore, the prospect of quitting driving is very stressful for older people, and these recommendations should be made on the basis of an evaluation individualized.
