The aging of the American population is well known and significantly impacts many aspects of health care needs and delivery. Most physicians have received very little or no formal geriatrics training, despite this growing trend in the number of elderly patients they care for. Surveys demonstrate that physicians commonly report discomfort and dissatisfaction with providing care to the elderly. Further, studies evaluating standard quality indicators for the care of the vulnerable elderly show quite poor quality of care. Elderly patients with multiple comorbidities report high rates of dissatisfaction with their health care.
ObjectivesAfter attending this activity, the participant will demonstrate the ability to:
- Recognize common geriatric syndromes and initiate treatment for these syndromes.
- Identify approaches to and limits of management of specific disease of organ systems that are common in the elderly (e.g. dementia, depression, vitamin D deficiency).
- Describe important research developments that influence the clinical care of geriatric patients.
