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| How is Geriatric care different from General Medicine in the elderly? |
A- Geriatric care differs in the following aspects:
- Disease manifestation and diagnosis often is different from younger adults.
- Certain medications used in the younger adults are inappropriate for the elderly.
- Dosage of medications is often different in the elderly.
- Elderly have multiple medical problems- physical, psychological and socio-environmental and treatment has to be optimized and individualized according to each patient’s needs.
- There are many disease complexes peculiar to the elderly known as “Geriatric Syndromes”. The Geriatrician is trained to identify and manage these.
- Apart from treating the medical conditions, the geriatrician aided by his team, focuses on functional rehabilitation to maximize quality of life
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| Does Geriatric care mean giving up regular medical care? |
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No, all the appropriate regular medical care will be continued and optimized by the Geriatrician and consultations with other specialists will be arranged as needed.
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| Does Geriatric Care exclude care from other subspecialties? |
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No. Geriatric care includes the best use of various medical and surgical subspecialties whenever required. The Geriatrician also helps the patient and relatives to make decisions regarding various medical and surgical interventions.
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| Is end of life care the same as Mercy Killing (Euthanasia)? |
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No. The Geriatrician, along with palliative care specialist and the Physician in charge of the patient will seek to provide maximum relief from pain and discomfort in a dying patient and helps the relatives to cope with the loss.
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