US Medical Supplies Blog

Today, geriatric medicine is a very big field. This includes many of the areas covered in traditional medicine, but this field of medicine is aimed at applying these ideas in the most beneficial manner to those who are over sixty-five.

There are many sides to geriatric medicine, from psychological issues to rehabilitation. Many things, such as falls, affect everyone, but more so those in this age group. This is one reason that the study of geriatrics is so important.

A recent study has just been released, which attempts to reach a consensus among geriatric professionals on how to best administer care to those over sixty-five, in a manner that will be efficient and the most beneficial to these seniors.

While it has long been known that as the body ages it changes, the actual teaching of geriatrics is relatively new. Some colleges have been slow to embrace geriatrics, but today it is taught at a steadily increasing number of Universities in the United States. Educating physicians and nurses will play a big part of effectively treating seniors, but there is also a large group of researchers that have and will continue to help further the study of geriatrics.

With the increased awareness of geriatric medicine, there are more and more medical professionals who are dedicated to helping seniors. The most current study, which surveyed graduates from 1990 to 1998, found that about 45% of those trained in geriatrics were working solely in the geriatric field.

As more and more people become involved in geriatrics, the science and methodology behind it has been changing and improving. The embracing of this field by medical schools has greatly helped to further the understanding of geriatrics. Despite this, there is expected to be a shortage of geriatrics over the next two decades as the population over sixty-five rapidly increases.

Since there will likely be too few geriatricians, it is imperative for doctors to identify and agree on the best and most efficient ways to provide medical service to seniors. A recent study was released to the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs (ADGAP) by a group of doctors headed by Gregg A. Warshaw MD. This study attempts to address this issue.

The study headed by Warshaw, consisted of an on-line survey that was presented to the directors of academic geriatric programs across the United States. Over a hundred and forty-five individuals were asked to participate and more than a hundred responded. While there were several areas that were controversial, there were also several topics that were largely agreed upon.

One of the areas that most of the participants agreed was incredibly important was the need to prioritize individuals based on their risks and age. In general, they agreed that individuals over the age of eighty-five would receive the most benefit from geriatric medicine, but taking into account the individuals functional capacity, overall infirmity, and health conditions is key.

Over ¾ of those who responded stated that individuals over eighty-five and had moderate or severe functional difficulties would receive the most benefit from geriatric medicine. Only around 15% stated that the care for a senior could be adequately provided by a family physician.

¾ of participants also felt that healthy people over sixty-five would benefit from preventative care, but not to a great extent. Of these, about half felt that it was more important to participate in risk assessment, which would help with their future care.

The reason that this study is so important is because it is aimed at determining how to properly treat those over sixty-five. Since the number of Americans over sixty-five is increasing at such a quick rate, it is imperative to use our geriatric resources as efficiently as possible.