The mnemonic DEEP-IN stands for a series of easy-to-administer, office-based screening tests designed to streamline initial assessment of the geriatric patient. These screens can quickly identify signs of delirium, dementia, depression, and adverse drug effects; vision and hearing deficits; risk for future impairments in activities of daily living; incontinence, and malnutrition. The author dev...

Ignatz Nascher first proposed disease and medical care of the aged as a separate specialty and invented the term “geriatrics” in 1909. However, the growth of geriatric medicine and healthcare of the elderly is often attributed to the pioneering work of Majorie Warren who successfully treated and rehabilitated seemingly hopeless elderly patients in the UK in the 1930s. British geriatric medicine...

BACKGROUND Many older people presenting to Acute Medical Units (AMU) are discharged after only a short stay (< 72 hours), yet many re-present to hospital or die within 1 year. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment may improve patient outcomes for this group. METHOD PARTICIPANTS Patients aged > 70 years and scoring positive on a risk screening tool ('Identification of Seniors At Risk') who are...

W hat is geriatric psychiatry? Simply put, it is the subspecialty dealing with the assessment and management of mental disorders occurring in late life—a period occasionally and somewhat arbitrarily defined as aged 65 years and over (1). This definition falsely simplifies what we do as geriatric psychiatrists and does not acknowledge the scope of practice and the specific skills requisite to th...

What is most important to older adults is maintaining independence and quality of life (QOL) through optimal mental capacity and physical functioning. Dialysis decisions in elderly persons must move beyond the traditional GFR-related indications for dialysis initiation and incorporate geriatric principles that focus on assessment of function, disabilities, comorbidities, and geriatric syndromes...