Getting older doesn’t automatically mean a rocking chair, but older adults also know that their bodies are changing and not able to deal with as much as someone in their 20s. With the Baby Boom Generation now entering senior status, how should the 50-plus age group handle their health?

A starting place is by finding the right physician, and that generally means someone who specializes in geriatrics, the branch of health care dedicated to the health care of older adults.

Geriatrics, An Emerging Specialty

“Geriatricians are for older adults, just as pediatricians are for children,” said Dr. Marie Bernard of the OU Physicians Senior Health Center and chair of the Department of Geriatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. “Pediatricians are knowledgeable about the special needs of young patients. Likewise, geriatricians know what’s different with the aging segment of the population in terms of the way they handle medications and the way illnesses should be treated.”

Geriatricians are well-trained and well-versed in all aspects of senior health care needs. To be board certified as a geriatrician, a physician first is trained in family practice or internal medicine and then has additional training in the care of older adults. OU Physicians Senior Health Center, with 11 geriatricians, is home to the largest group of board-certified geriatricians in Oklahoma.

An Important Safety Net

At 85 years of age, Earl knows all too well the confusion that many seniors face when it comes to managing their health care needs. “One of the problems I think I had experienced was to be sure to understand what medicines have been prescribed and that I am taking them properly and on time,” he said. “I find this is really a problem for a lot of older people.”

“If you have an older individual who is seeing five or six physicians with two or three medications per physician,” Bernard said, “that’s 15 medications and virtually a 100 percent likelihood that there is going to be an interaction between medications and nutrients. That needs to be monitored.”

Many older adults will say the last thing they need is another physician, but Bernard stressed that a geriatrician can actually help simplify an older person’s medical care regimen, eliminating unnecessary duplication and helping ensure that all of the doctors on a patient’s “care team” know what the others are doing.

“Doctors want to do the best they can for their patients,” said Bryan Struck, another geriatrician with the Senior Health Center, “but you can only do that if you know the whole picture.”

In fact, geriatricians often work closely with other specialists to help ensure older patients get the best overall care possible. Other doctors often refer to geriatricians when their older patients experience such common problems as:

failure to thrive.
instability and balance disorders.
cognitive impairment.
and frailty.

Encouraging Pro-active Senior Health Care

Bernard said older adults may not always realize that something is wrong. Oftentimes, it is their children, grandchildren or caregivers who first become aware of the fact that something isn’t quite right. Don’t ignore early warning signs, Bernard stressed. Instead, make sure that any early warning signs are brought to the geriatrician’s attention.

“I think the best approach is to say, ‘mom, dad, uncle,’ whatever, ‘I’ve observed a couple of things and I think it would be worthy to get some evaluations,” Struck said. “We know a lot more today than we used to know about the aging process. A lot of the things that many people assume are ‘a normal part of aging’ are not.”

Struck and Bernard added that relatives need to be proactive. “Offer to make the appointment with the geriatrician yourself,” Struck urged. “Then go with your loved one to see the geriatrician together.” Sometimes, getting older loved ones to take better care of themselves just takes a little nudge in the right direction.