Geriatric doctors are also known as geriatricians. They specialize in caring for adults in their older years who tend to have complex medical issues. Geriatricians focus on helping people remain functional and in maintaining their quality of life. Geriatric doctors are also well-versed in working with family members and caregivers who are helping older adults.
 
Geriatricians diagnose and treat health concerns in older adults. Their patients will usually have chronic health concerns. Older adults are likely to have at least one chronic health concern and often have two or more. Geriatricians are able to understand how these issues can overlap with other aspects of their health care and will usually coordinate with other healthcare professionals to address the needs of older patients.

There is no specific age that a person should start seeing a geriatric doctor. Most patients will start to see one in their mid-60s or later. There are other reasons that they may want to work with a geriatric doctor before they reach a more mature age.
 
If they have become frail or impaired, leaving them with limited ability to move around or care for themselves, a geriatric doctor is a good choice.
 
If they need to address multiple issues that require complex medication and care routines, a geriatric doctor can help.
 
If they aren’t getting adequate help from their caregivers, a geriatric doctor can make the difference.
 
If they have cognitive difficulty, geriatric doctors can assist in diagnosing and providing medical care.

A geriatric appointment or assessment is done to gain an understanding of the relevant information related to a patient’s health and function of an older person. It is done to start the process of making an accurate diagnosis to establish good holistic management, care planning, and effective communication within a multi-disciplinary team. The purpose of this is the management of the patient’s health and health issues.
 
To do this, a patient’s current and past history of function needs to be understood. This function is in relation to daily activities, mobility issues, cognition, medical history, medications taken, and the support they currently have available. The appointment will seek to understand the patient’s frailty or other issues.

This assessment will take place in an office or clinic and can take up to two hours to complete. In some cases, it can take longer if more in-depth tests need to be conducted. The consultation will look at and evaluate the patient’s medical history and existing concerns. This will also require that the geriatric doctor is provided with medical and hospitalization records, discharge summaries, a list of medications, and recent health events.

Older adults can require specialized care and Suburban Healthcare Associates has the expertise to deal with these. We can provide geriatric care at our facilities. Call to find out about our team or schedule an appointment online. We serve patients from Naperville IL, Plainfield IL, Joliet IL, Woodridge IL, Wolfs IL, Warrenville IL, Crystal Lawns IL, Romeoville IL, Lockport IL, Crest Hill IL, Shorewood IL, Gilletts IL, and Fairmont IL.