What Is a Geriatrician? When an Aging Parent Should See One
A specialty aimed at the problems that arrive together in later life: several conditions, many medications, and changes in memory and balance.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- A geriatrician is a doctor board-certified in internal or family medicine with extra training in caring for older adults.
- More than half of older adults have three or more medical conditions, according to the American Geriatrics Society's Health in Aging Foundation, and geriatrics is built for that overlap.
- A geriatrician can help when several conditions, many medications, falls or memory changes are affecting daily life.
- If no geriatrician is nearby, family practitioners and internists may also have a lot of experience with older patients, according to the National Institute on Aging.
- Retirement Checklist puts health questions in order with the documents that let family help, such as a HIPAA authorization.
A geriatrician is a medical doctor with special training in caring for older adults, board-certified in internal medicine or family medicine with extra training in geriatrics, according to the American Geriatrics Society's Health in Aging Foundation (AGS). The specialty is built for several conditions, medications and changes in memory and mobility at once.
What problem does a geriatrician solve?
The problem of several health problems at once. AGS says "many older adults have several health problems at the same time. More than half have three or more medical conditions." Those can include heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, diabetes, arthritis or dementia, and AGS notes that having several at once "can make it hard to do daily activities on your own, such as bathing, dressing, cooking, or managing medications."
Medications are part of the same picture. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) says "Taking many medications can also increase the risk for side effects and other unintended problems," and that some medications raise the risk of falling "because they cause side effects such as dizziness or confusion." A geriatrician's job, in AGS's words, is to "help older adults stay healthy and independent for as long as possible."
How is a geriatrician different from a regular doctor?
The difference is the focus. AGS says geriatrics professionals "look at the whole person" and "evaluate medical, social, and emotional needs." They work around five areas AGS calls the Geriatrics 5Ms:
- Multicomplexity: "having multiple health problems at the same time."
- Mind: "memory, thinking, and mood." NIA notes that "Sometimes depression in older people is confused with normal aging."
- Mobility: "safe movement and preventing falls." NIA says "A fall can alert your doctor to a new medical problem or issues with your medications or eyesight that can be corrected."
- Medications: "using medicines safely." NIA describes deprescribing as "an approach to safely reduce or stop medications that are potentially inappropriate or unnecessary."
- What Matters Most: "a person's goals, values, and preferences."
Geriatrics also uses a team. AGS lists nurse practitioners, consultant pharmacists who "specialize in reviewing medications," social workers, therapists and others alongside the geriatrician.
When should someone see a geriatrician?
There's no age threshold in AGS's guidance; its suggestions are about health problems. AGS says to consider seeing a geriatrician if:
- an older adult has health problems that cause weakness, disability or frailty, which may include memory or thinking changes, incontinence, depression, or trouble moving and caring for themselves;
- family members or caregivers, including close friends, feel stressed or overwhelmed;
- an older adult "has difficulty following complicated treatment plans or sees many different healthcare providers and needs help coordinating care."
NIA adds that more significant memory problems, "changes in thinking ability or personality, or poor decision-making could indicate a serious condition that requires medical attention."
Is it hard to find a geriatrician?
That depends on what's near your parent, and you can check. AGS runs a free Find a Geriatrics Health Professional tool that lists providers trained in older adults' care by city, state or zip code, or by phone at 800-563-4916.
It can help to ask early, at a routine appointment while nothing is urgent. If there isn't one within reach, NIA notes that "family practitioners and internists may also have a lot of experience with older patients," and suggests asking a prospective doctor "Do you have many older patients?" You can also ask your parent's current doctor the NIA question: are there any medications your parent "could safely reduce or stop"?
What questions are worth asking?
- Who, today, is looking at all of your parent's conditions and medications together?
- When was the full medication list last reviewed by one person, with the explicit question of what could be stopped?
- Are there geriatricians within reach, and what is the wait?
- Would your parent prefer to keep their existing doctor and add a consultation, or move their primary care?
- Has anyone asked your parent what they want from treatment, as distinct from what is available?
Frequently asked questions
What is a geriatrician?
A medical doctor with special training in caring for older adults. AGS says geriatricians are board-certified in internal medicine or family medicine with extra training in geriatrics, and that they "often care for frail or medically complex older adults in many settings," from hospitals and nursing homes to a person's home.
How is a geriatrician different from a primary care doctor?
A geriatrician can be a primary care doctor: NIA says primary care physicians are family practitioners, internists or geriatricians, and that a geriatrician specializes in older people. The difference is training focused on the problems AGS groups as the 5Ms: multiple conditions, memory and mood, mobility and falls, medications, and what matters most.
When is it worth seeing one?
AGS suggests considering one when health problems cause weakness, disability or frailty, when family caregivers feel overwhelmed, or when an older adult struggles to follow complicated treatment plans or sees many different providers and needs help coordinating care. Memory or thinking changes are among the problems it lists.
Is it hard to find one?
It depends on where your parent lives. AGS offers a free Find a Geriatrics Health Professional tool, searchable by city, state or zip code, or by phone at 800-563-4916. If none is nearby, NIA notes that family practitioners and internists may also have a lot of experience with older patients.
Does Medicare cover it?
Medicare Part B covers medically necessary doctor services, and a geriatrician is a doctor, so the same rules apply. Medicare also covers a separate visit for a cognitive assessment. In a Medicare Advantage plan, your parent may need to use doctors in the plan's network, so check with the plan first.
At what age should you see a geriatrician?
There's no fixed age in AGS's guidance. Its suggestions are about health problems: frailty, memory or thinking changes, trouble moving, several conditions at once, complicated treatment plans, or too many providers with no one coordinating. Those are the signals to raise with your parent's doctor.
What happens at a geriatric assessment?
AGS says geriatrics professionals look at the whole person and evaluate medical, social and emotional needs, organized around the 5Ms: conditions, memory and mood, mobility, medications, and what matters most. For a Medicare cognitive assessment, Medicare.gov says the visit can include an exam, a medication review and a care plan.
Getting started
Every family's order is different. The plan this site builds asks four questions, including which state your parents live in, and puts the handful of steps that matter most for your family in order. It's free and takes about 90 seconds.
Related guides
Sources
- American Geriatrics Society Health in Aging Foundation, Basic Facts about Geriatrics: What geriatricians are trained in, the Geriatrics 5Ms, and when to see one.
- National Institute on Aging, How To Choose a Doctor You Can Talk To: Geriatricians, family practitioners and internists as primary care doctors.
- National Institute on Aging, Taking Medicines Safely as You Age: Deprescribing and asking which medicines could be reduced or stopped.
- National Institute on Aging, Falls and Fractures in Older Adults: Medications and falls, and telling the doctor about a fall.
- National Institute on Aging, Does an Older Adult in Your Life Need Help?: Memory and mood changes that need medical attention.
- Medicare.gov, Doctor and other health care provider services: Part B coverage of doctor services.
- Medicare.gov, Compare Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage: Medicare Advantage provider networks.
- Medicare.gov, Cognitive assessment and care plan services: What a Medicare cognitive assessment visit includes.
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