The Role of the Geriatric Physician

With Carol Wood, M.D., Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Columbia St. Mary’s

Posted: Nov. 1, 2007

Older adults represent one of the fastest growing segments of the population today. Over the next 20 years, 77 million baby boomers are expected to reach retirement age and by 2050, one in five people living in the United States will be age 65 or older.

As adults enter their senior years, they often encounter age-related health issues such as balance problems, loss of hearing and eyesight, memory disorders and a host of other medical-related concerns often referred to as “geriatric syndromes.”

In addition, seniors are more likely to develop chronic health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and arthritis. In fact, 80% of adults over the age of 65 have at least one chronic health condition and 50% have at least two.

Because of their unique health care needs, seniors may want to consider consulting a geriatrician when they encounter health problems related to aging. A geriatrician is specially trained to diagnose, treat and manage diseases and conditions related to older adults.

Geriatric medicine is a subspecialty of internal medicine. In addition to standard medical school and postgraduate training, geriatricians must be board certified in internal medicine and complete a one- or two-year fellowship in which they study health conditions specific to aging.

Geriatricians can knowledgably consider and address a broad spectrum of conditions including geriatric assessment and rehabilitation, preventive medicine, management of patients in long-term care settings, and psycho-social, ethical, legal and economic issues pertinent to geriatric patients.

Older adults may be referred to a geriatrician by their primary physician when an age-related health issue requires a specific diagnosis or treatment plan. Some health plans allow people age 65 and older to choose a geriatrician to be their primary care physician.

Geriatricians work in a variety of health care settings, from private practice to hospitals to nursing homes, and can coordinate care with other health care professionals and across community-based settings to ensure that seniors’ needs are met.

While growing older is inevitable, health care providers can help seniors maintain an active lifestyle and ease the everyday challenges of aging. For instance, many older adults consider gradual memory loss to be a normal part of the aging process, but there are preventative measures to help slow the progression or even delay the onset of dementia.

Although the elderly population is rapidly increasing in the United States, there is currently a shortage of geriatricians and health care professionals trained to care for older Americans.

Today there are fewer than 7,000 practicing geriatricians in the U.S. and, according to the American Geriatric Association, the lack of geriatric doctors may reach crisis proportions in the next 25 years as millions of baby boomers hit retirement age. Unless major steps are taken to recruit and train geriatricians, the association projects that by 2030 there will be only one geriatrician for every 7,665 older adults.

In response to this trend, many medical schools are beginning to do more to introduce geriatrics to its students. Also, the field of geriatrics recognizes the need to actively recruit qualified physicians who are motivated to work with the elderly.


Carol Wood, M.D., Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
Columbia St. Mary’s
414-326-1745

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