{"title":"A 'COMMON SENSE' approach to geriatric patients in clinical practice.","authors":"Lara S Greenstein","doi":"10.4102/safp.v67i1.6027","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>South Africa has a critical shortage of geriatricians and a growing ageing population. Most geriatric patients are cared for by their primary care practitioner who may not have been trained in the care of the older adult. The comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is the cornerstone of the geriatric consultation but can be time-consuming. By using a common sense approach to the geriatric patient, none of the important components of the CGA will be missed. The mnemonic 'COMMON SENSE' can be used as a tool to assist in identifying the common conditions that older adults experience, as well as highlight specific considerations that become increasingly important in this population. Many simple and time-effective screening tools are available to assist in diagnosing the geriatric syndromes which can be easily implemented in a busy primary care practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":22040,"journal":{"name":"South African Family Practice","volume":"67 1","pages":"e1-e5"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11966688/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South African Family Practice","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4102/safp.v67i1.6027","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
South Africa has a critical shortage of geriatricians and a growing ageing population. Most geriatric patients are cared for by their primary care practitioner who may not have been trained in the care of the older adult. The comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is the cornerstone of the geriatric consultation but can be time-consuming. By using a common sense approach to the geriatric patient, none of the important components of the CGA will be missed. The mnemonic 'COMMON SENSE' can be used as a tool to assist in identifying the common conditions that older adults experience, as well as highlight specific considerations that become increasingly important in this population. Many simple and time-effective screening tools are available to assist in diagnosing the geriatric syndromes which can be easily implemented in a busy primary care practice.
期刊介绍:
South African Family Practice (SAFP) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, which strives to provide primary care physicians and researchers with a broad range of scholarly work in the disciplines of Family Medicine, Primary Health Care, Rural Medicine, District Health and other related fields. SAFP publishes original research, clinical reviews, and pertinent commentary that advance the knowledge base of these disciplines. The content of SAFP is designed to reflect and support further development of the broad basis of these disciplines through original research and critical review of evidence in important clinical areas; as well as to provide practitioners with continuing professional development material.