Role of Family Medicine Doctor in a Geriatric Patient - An Overview

Introduction

Family physicians are generally the patient's first contact with the health system. They are ideally positioned to provide care for individuals living from the early to end stage of dementia. They facilitate a long-term understanding of these patients and their families' social, medical, and psychological situations. They are very potent in accepting delayed diagnosis and active management challenges. Geriatric care involves extra care taken by the doctor apart from their friends and family members to deal with the chronic conditions patients are going through. Teamwork puts patients in a comfort zone to share their sorrow, happiness, emotions, and uneasiness if they face any of them.

What Is Meant by a Geriatric Doctor?

Geriatricians are fully trained medical doctors and primary care physicians specializing in geriatric medicine, treating conditions that affect older adults. The number of geriatric doctors is decreasing daily because the government health care program for people above 65 and older has a low reimbursement rate, resulting in lower-income geriatricians than other health professionals. One of the main functions of a family doctor is that the older people are familiar with them to share any problems they face.

What Is the Role of Geriatric Doctors?

The primary role of a geriatrician is to diagnose the condition and make the possible treatment that affects people when they age; they include:

• Cancer.

• Hearing and vision loss.

• Mental illness.

• Osteoporosis.

• Osteoarthritis.

• Insomnia.

• Heart failure.

• Depression.

• Diabetes.

• Impairment.

Five Most Essential Roles of a Family Doctor:

Family practitioners treat all medical conditions of all ages and gender and take care of them. This is different from other practitioners who only focus on a particular body part or on which the specialization has been done. Family physicians do not treat disease; they take care of people who need some extra effort to live a healthy and meaningful life.

Family Doctor Oversees the Preventive Care:

Family doctors perform the most significant function of educating patients on disease and health

maintenance. They keep under their supervision to take care of their mental, physical, and emotional needs, which include:

• Weight control and nutritional counseling.

• Stress relief and anger management techniques.

• Fertility testing and counting.

• Enhancing them by making them join yoga or fitness classes.

• Mental, physical, and emotional support and how to be happy.

• Educate and be aware of the person around to take care of the self.

Family Doctors Are Experts at Managing Common Complaints:

Apart from geriatric patients, family physicians take care of people. Also, suppose a person comes down with a bladder infection or has the viral flu. In that case, the family doctor is the go-to medical resource for the appropriate treatment. the family doctor is the first stop if the child needs immunization for school or camp or is concerned about the child's physical growth rate. Patients should not hide anything related to their health from their family doctor and report any new changes observed in the body.

Family Physicians Diagnose Early-Stage Conditions

Since they provide treatment to you and the family over a long period, and they know the medical history properly. They know what is typical, and if any unusual symptomatic changes occur in the body, they are often the first to detect an emerging Condition. The family doctor is very familiar with the medical history, making them identify any changes that might signify any hidden or severe condition. Then, they diagnose, perform, and interpret tests, explain the result, monitor the progress, and reevaluate the treatment when necessary.

Family Physicians Are the Backbone of the Health Care Team:

Family practice doctors supervise physician assistants, nurses, and medical assistants who coordinate with occupational therapists, pharmacists, mental health workers, social workers, rehabilitation, and other health care providers. They try their best to give a comfort zone and also can refer to some specialists if in case need some extra care and concentration are required, but they remain in touch and stay involved and informed, acting as the primary care provider. This makes me feel free from the stress of handling and dealing with everything alone.

Family Physician Manage Chronic Illness:

In recent studies, people are very much prone to diabetes, asthma, hypertension, thyroid, stroke, cancer, and degenerative conditions that a family doctor manages. They provide some of the most ongoing and personalized care for the most challenging time in life by continuing to use diagnostic tests to determine the condition you are going through and getting prepared with them. In addition, teamwork helps come out from the aura of mental, physical, social, and emotional illness.

What Is the Checklist of Useful Items for Assessing Geriatric Patients?

History:

1. Smoking history.

2. Identification of the use of multiple medicines.

3. Mental status, especially mental illness.

4. Any oral and intravenous drug abuse.

Physical Examination.

1. The efficiency of hearing.

2. Routine blood pressure recording.

3. Nutritional status, especially the detection of anemia and undernutrition.

4. Breast examination in women above 65 years to detect any pathology if present.

5. Urinary incontinence.

6. Visual examination.

Screening for cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, and hypercholesterolemia, which have

been thought to have had some value was found not to be.

Conclusion:

As per the studies and the article mentioned earlier, a family medicine doctor is the support system for geriatric patients, especially those suffering from any disease or dementia. However, the doctor's role in the care of the elderly is often viewed as critical due to the close contact with elderly patients. The studies show that the doctor needs to use diagnostic instruments to avoid close contact with the patients. To succeed in these challenges, it is very much necessary for a doctor to enhance his knowledge of primary geriatric care to decide on appropriate management plans, develop links with other health professionals and nurture his skills.