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Common Problems of the Elderly

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Family Medicine

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Abstract

Older patients are a challenging but satisfying part of most family physicians’ practices. Optimal care of geriatric patients occurs when the precepts of continuity of care, the team approach to the management of illness, the importance of the family, and the biopsychosocial model are followed. Because of the prevalence of chronic disease in the elderly, cure may be elusive, but appropriate care always improves the quality of the older adult’s life. Some common problems of the elderly are reviewed in this chapter. More complete discussions may be found in textbooks of geriatric medicine.1,2

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Authors
  1. James P. Richardson
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  2. Aubrey L. Knight
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR, 97201, USA

    Robert B. Taylor M.D. (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

  2. Department of Family Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, 45267, USA

    Alan K. David M.D. (The Fred Lazarus, Jr., Professor and Director) (The Fred Lazarus, Jr., Professor and Director)

  3. Department of Family Medicine, St. John’s Mercy Medical Center, St. Louis, MO, 63141, USA

    Thomas A. Johnson Jr. M.D. (Chairman) (Chairman)

  4. Department of Family Medicine, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA

    D. Melessa Phillips M.D. (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

  5. Department of Family Medicine, University of California—Irvine College of Medicine, Orange, CA, 92697, USA

    Joseph E. Scherger M.D., M.P.H. (Associate Dean for Primary Care and Chair) (Associate Dean for Primary Care and Chair)

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Richardson, J.P., Knight, A.L. (1998). Common Problems of the Elderly. In: Taylor, R.B., David, A.K., Johnson, T.A., Phillips, D.M., Scherger, J.E. (eds) Family Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2947-4_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2947-4_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-2949-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2947-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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