Geriatrics Handbook

People are living longer. Life expectancy has doubled in the last two hundred years.We expect the number of centenarians to be over 200,000 in the next ten years. Those living into their eighties and nineties will be common. Over the next ten years, it is possible that nearly 30 percent of the population will be retired seniors above the age of sixty-five.Increasing longevity and aging has its positives and negatives. It is desirable to see that people are living longer, but they also face an increasing number of health-care and socioeconomic issues. It is a well-established fact that health-care costs increase toward the end of life.Geriatrics is a medical specialty of providing health care for the older adult. Their health-care needs differ somewhat from that of the younger population. This handbook addresses various medical problems as it relates to older patients. Prevention of health hazards and expression of compassionate care deserve as much attention as providing appropriate medical care. Hence, the book is divided into those sections.This handbook is written for the following: Medical professionals who render much of the current geriatric care in many parts of the world. Physicians, physician assistants, nurses, allied professionals, and gerontologists. Students, interns, residents, fellows, those who intend to provide care to aging adults. Aging adults who want a better understanding of aging and health-related problems. Caregivers and family members of aging adults who want and need a handbook to understand aging and important issues aging adults face. Health-care administrators, those who run facilities attending to the health needs of our aging population. Awareness of aging adults' needs, palliative care, and end-of-life issues with their emotional, moral, and financial aspects are often ignored or forgotten in the busy life of a medical practitioner. Today, medical science focuses more on short-term fixes and immediate problem solving instead of treating the whole person. Hence, a considerable amount of a senior's care falls on the shoulders of nurses, aides, and on family members. The practice of geriatric medicine is not attractive to many young physicians. Currently, modern technology, procedures, and frontiers of medical advances are much more attractive, exciting, and more lucrative, although geriatrics is a well-recognized field in Western medicine. The importance of geriatric care is gathering momentum in the rest of the world as more people are aging. The authors sincerely hope this handbook will illuminate the health-care needs of our aging population.

-- Venkit S. Iyer, MD, FACS - David Bernstein, MD, FACP