As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.

The third edition of the definitive international reference book on all aspects of the medical care of older persons will provide every physician involved in the care of older patients with a comprehensive resource on all the clinical problems they are likely to encounter, as well as on related psychological, philosophical, and social issues.

This manual takes a multidisciplinary approach to neurological disorders in the elderly. Comprehensive and practical, it includes the most recent diagnostic criteria and immediately accessible visual care paths including the latest pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions. Covering a range of modalities, from the importance and impact of each disease to diagnostic criteria, genetics, laboratory and imaging findings, treatment and care paths, this book focuses on neurological conditions that occur commonly in older persons or which have a striking effect on their lives. The common types of dementias, Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, rapidly progressive diseases, seizure disorders and multiple sclerosis are covered. Issues commonly affecting this population, such as neurobehavioral symptoms and caregiver issues, are discussed. Neuro-Geriatrics: A Clinical Manual is aimed at any physician who treats the elderly with neurological disorders: neurologists, geriatricians and geriatric psychiatrists, both specialists and general practitioners.

This background paper, prepared by two members of the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Strengthening the Geriatric Content of Medical Education, addresses the progress made in physicians' geriatric and gerontological education. The report appears in six chapters. After a brief introduction on health care reform and medical education, geriatric medicine and geriatricians are discussed in chapter 2. Some of the topics examined here include the historical development of geriatrics, physician certification, and the utilization and financing of health services. Chapter 3 analyzes past efforts to develop geriatrics and explores increases in geriatric faculty, geriatric fellowship programs and residencies, continuing medical education, and obstacles to the development of academic geriatrics. Chapter 4 assesses the demand for geriatricians and faculty, while in chapter 5, some strategies to strengthen physicians' geriatrics training are presented. Some of these strategies include revised financial policies, the revamping of service delivery, the strengthening of faculty development and academic programs, and recruiting and marketing ideas. The last chapter comments briefly on the 1993 Institute of Medicine Report. The recommendations made in the above report were grouped into five categories: (1) improved education in geriatrics; (2) leadership centers; (3) enhanced attractiveness of geriatrics; (4) revision in payment policies; and (5) research support. (RJM)

Doctors who know something about working with the elderly are in greater demand than ever before.

This book aims to be a single point of reference for advances in the care of geriatric populations across medical and surgical specialties. The aging population is a unique demographic with its own health challenges. Geriatricians are specifically trained to address these challenges but few medical students or residents enter geriatrics, even as the demand for geriatric expertise increases. The practices of many medical and surgical specialists are dominated by older patients who may themselves see many specialists but rarely visit geriatricians. This updated edition elucidates the most common medical conditions seen in aging patients and translates approaches to those conditions for physicians across specialties. Divided into three sections that assemble crosscutting issues, medical specialties, and surgical and related specialties, this book serves as a guide for clinicians of all backgrounds who will work with older patients as the demographic ages further. This second edition of Geriatrics for Specialists expands the number of specialist chapters to reflect growth in research in aging and clinical care for older people in dermatology, plastic surgery, and behavioral neurology. All original chapters from the first edition are extensively revised and updated to reflect the rapid growth of new knowledge in the field.

As aging trends in the United States and Europe in particular are strongly suggestive of increasingly older society, it would be prudent for health care providers to better prepare for such changes. By including physiology, disease, nutrition, pharmacology, pathology, radiology and other relevant associated topics, Geriatric Gastroenterology fills the void in the literature for a volume devoted specifically to gastrointestinal illness in the elderly. This unique volume includes provision of training for current and future generations of physicians to deal with the health problems of older adults. It will also serve as a comprehensive guide to practicing physicians for ease of reference. Relevant to the geriatric age group, the volume covers epidemiology, physiology of aging, gastrointestinal physiology, pharmacology, radiology, pathology, motility disorders, luminal disorders, hepato-biliary disease, systemic manifestations, neoplastic disorders, gastrointestinal bleeding, cancer and medication related interactions and adverse events, all extremely common in older adults; these are often hard to evaluate and judge, especially considering the complex aging physiology. All have become important components of modern medicine. Special emphasis is be given to nutrition and related disorders. Capsule endoscopy and its utility in the geriatric population is also covered. Presented in simple, easy to read style, the volume includes numerous tables, figures and key points enabling ease of understanding. Chapters on imaging and pathology are profusely illustrated. All chapters are written by specialists and include up to date scientific information. Geriatric Gastroenterology is of great utility to residents in internal medicine, fellows in gastroenterology and geriatric medicine as well as gastroenterologists, geriatricians and practicing physicians including primary care physicians caring for older adults.

This comprehensive volume provides a practical framework for evaluation, management and disposition of this growing vulnerable patient population.

Integrative Geriatric Medicine summarizes a patient-centered, wholistic approaches to medical care of the elderly. Deeply rooted in life style interventions such as nutrition, movement therapies, and mind-body and spirituality approaches integrative geriatrics allows patients to have different path to their healthcare, one that utilizes pharmaceuticals and invasive procedures only when safer integrative approaches are not available or not effective.

The most up-to-date source of clinically focused information on the medical care of the increasing elderly population. This text features relevant diagnostic and treatment content needed by every provider of healthcare to older adults. The text covers the major diseases and disorders of the elderly with particular attention to the care of the elderly.