The future history of geriatrics: geriatrics at the crossroads.

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Geriatrics has had a hard time deciding just what it wants to be when it grows up. An early concept of geriatrics equated it primarily with caring for persons in long-term care (1). A major effort to predict the need for geriatrically trained personnel envisioned geriatrics as primarily consisting of specialists who would handle complex cases on referral and provide oversight and advice otherwise (2). A decade later, as managed care was gaining strength and the demand for primary care seemed insatiable, geriatrics redefined itself as a primary care specialty (3). Today one hears geriatricians describe themselves as those who deal with end-of-life care.