Is a Geriatrician beneficial?

We were referred to a Geriatric physician by my mom’s primary physician when we first found mom to be having cognitive issues. The Geriatric physician was helpful in diagnosis of dementia, and giving our family guidance on changes we can expect as disease progresses. Mom is continuing her care with primary care physician, with Geriatrics as an additional resource.

A geriatrician is a physician who specializes in the care of older adults. They are used in the same manner as a general practitioner with the added benefit of being a specialist for issues affecting the elderly. I used a geriatrician for my mother and was very pleased with his care and knowledge.

I feel like a really good primary care doctor is adequate. If they feel you need to see a specialist they will send you to them. Try a geriatrician if you like. If you are pleased, then make the switch.

A geriatrician is a doctor who has (normally) been board certified to work with older adults, and the common illnesses and diseases that comes with getting old. Abnormal aging. And these days they have a lot more to do with Alzheimer's.

Like any specialist their real skill is when there is a tricky diagnosis to make, or a bunch of symptoms that are confusing to a general practitioner. To be honest, I would not really look for one over a hospitalist or GP, unless I was referred to one by another MD.

A good Geriatrician IS beneficial. My mother did not use one.

I consider myself fortunate to have a geriatrician for our primary care provider. Hubby is almost 88 with a whole bouquet of problems and I'm 72 with hardly any. She is about 20 years younger than I and (if she stays put and doesn't die) will already know me when I start to have "elderly" problems and I won't just be a faceless little old lady to her. At the moment she just treats me as any family care doctor would. And she is just wonderful with my husband. His previous primary care doctor had him on all sorts of different things (vitamin K, testosterone, I forget all what) and seemed to think he could reason with hubby. So when geriatrician became available we immediately interviewed her. One thing I recall her saying immediately (regarding his then mild dementia) was "you do know that we are not trying to cure this". I think she just wanted to make sure we didn't have unrealistic expectations.

A Geriatrician is a physician specializing in the needs of the aged.
So yes, a good Geriatrician is beneficial. You can also use an Internist.

However, not all physicians are created equally and you need to do your homework.

I keep my General Practitioner, MD, and let him refer me to specialists as needed. After close to 30 years, I trust him and trust is #1 in my book.

If you had a pain in your foot, would you want a general practitioner who knows a little about a lot or a podiatrist whose primary focus is on foot pain? A Geriatrician is much more familiar with medical issues related to the elderly. Again, that is the focus of their treatment and knowledge. Without question, if you have access to a Geriatrician, GO! With my elderly parents, their geriatrician treated everything from appetite to attitude.
As a follow up note, Geriatricians understand elderly folks move more slowly, do not hear or see as well, and are generally tired. They speak more distinctly and more softly and walk more slowly while engaging in the personal touch. They will engage them in conversation, all the while assessing their mental condition, and also discuss medications and treatment with you. This care is priceless! So, if you have access to a Geriatrician, by all means GO!

I took my husband to a geriatric doctor. She was wonderful. On the initial visit she put him on medication to slow the dementia, also antidepressant medication because he cried all the time. She canceled his drivers license. And asked me how I was. I took him once year. At each visit he was given a memory test.

I will be seeing a geriatrician myself in the next few months. I plan to use them like a specialist. (seeing them a couple of times per year). I am taking that approach because the only geriatricians are located too far (I want to be able to drive myself to my primary care doctor when acutely sick and for followup care). Both my primary care doctor and the geriatrician is ok with that. Like my other specialist, I will see the geriatrician more frequently if needed.

In the same way that a pediatrician specializes with children, a geriatrician is trained to deal with the special needs of elderly patients. Yes, switch to a geriatric specialist as your mom's primary care doctor. They will then direct you to any additional specialists as needed.

I will also add that in addition to a geriatrician, a geriatric psychiatrist probably gave us the most added benefit of any M.D. we acquired as part of mom's team.

Geriatric psychiatrists are medical doctors who may be the last specialty who actually "see" the whole person: body, mind and soul. Their input can be invaluable.

If you can on with a geriatrician, absolutely do it. They're invaluable.

My aunt (93) sees a geriatric primary associated with a university two hours away. It’s worked out great for her.
We only go once a year. This is her primary. She also has home health throug Medicare.
I suspect that the differences in frequency of required visits are up to the doctor and the patient. I don’t believe it’s a requirement of geriatric doctors in general but perhaps of that particular practice. We’ve never been asked to do tests outside of ordinary blood work. Most of which I’ve requested.

Yes, very beneficial. My parents had one who I really liked as she understood it is not easy for us caregivers, thus while my parents were in her office, she had them take routine blood test instead of scheduling such test for another day.

But I did find said doctors tend to want to see their patients every 3 months which I thought was a bit much, especially if the patient didn't have anything major, just age related problems. Thus, I use to change the appointments so it would be 4 or 5 months between appointments, unless the parent needed something sooner.

In fact, my sig other and I are both 73, and we have our own geriatrician, who we like. But like other geriatricians, they tend to over test, and give us meds when the blood work is just a tad over or under the norm. It comes with the territory.

Maybe not necessary if you have a good GP but certainly worth looking into if you are changing anyway, I think it's akin to opting for a pediatrician for your child.

I can speak as one whose parent uses a long time family practice doctor. This doctor is beloved by my dad, but in the last few years he’s grown silent and offers nothing. His bag of tricks has simply run out with my dad’s growing list of issues and complexities. Other than receiving prescription refills the visits are worthless. My dad isn’t receptive to changing to a geriatrician or I’d certainly have him seeing one.

My LO was seen by a wonderful geriatric focused practice for about 2 years before she entered an AL.

The experience was excellent, all services under one roof, deep respect for her age, condition, and numerous idiosyncrasies!

She is now seen by the physician on site in her AL, also very good, and very in tune with her needs as a 90+ client.

Yes, a geriatric doctor is very important to use as the PCP. Their specialised training is with the diseases and treatments of the elderly is their primary focus. General practice docs do not have the knowledge or experience with medical issues of the elderly.

And if dementia is diagnosed, a neurologist that specializes in that may also be a good idea. The geriatrician would potentially make the referral. There are times when that is necessary.