Geriatric Case Exercise

Thank you for that insightful post. As I mentioned in my post, the current deficit of geriatricians is projected to become more pronounced with expected growth of the elderly population. More geriatricians will be necessary to provide healthcare for this medically complex population. Several steps can be taken to increase the number of geriatric physicians including establishment of more geriatric departments in medical schools in the U.S., increase in the number of training positions for geriatrics and primary care as opposed to other medical specialties and increased reimbursement for physicians caring for the geriatric population. With regards to preventive care, there are already several recommended age appropriate screenings in place such

as recommendation by professional medical societies to begin mammograms at age 40, colonoscopy at age 50, and osteoporosis screening with DEXA scan at age 65. I believe the focus for the geriatric population must center around management of chronic disease such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and the issue of polypharmacy. With advances in medical research and technology, Americans are living longer with chronic disease. These illnesses must be managed appropriately in an outpatient setting to prevent increased burden on safety nets such as urgent care centers and emergency departments in the U.S. Abuse of emergency health care results in excessive healthcare costs and deprivation of resources to those who truly require emergency care. Recruiting more medical students to pursue geriatrics will likely center around increased compensation for the geriatric specialty. Geriatricians often spend not only more time managing chronic diseases for elderly patients, they also address social issues and end-of-life care. We must focus on improving benefits for geriatricians to recruit more medical students into this field.