Geriatrics
Geriatrics is a medical specialty focused on the complex needs that emerge when people live with multiple conditions, changing mobility, and shifting priorities about what "good care" means. As humans continue to live longer, there are more health issues that are managed by multiple specialists. Geriatric healthcare professionals see the whole person, not just one organ system at a time.
While most receiving geriatric care are those 75 and over, it's less about age and more about how illness, function, medications, cognition, and social context interact in real life.
What Geriatricians Do — The 5Ms
Geriatricians organize their care around five interconnected domains, the 5Ms, adopted by the American Geriatrics Society. Their work is done in collaboration with primary care, palliative care, social work, and family caregivers to connect home safety, goals of care, and what matters most.
Mind
Mobility
Medications
Multi-Complexity
Matters Most
Geriatric Care Roles
These are four roles families often run into. For referrals and next steps, talk to a navigator or see the FAQs.
Geriatrician (MD)
Fellowship-trained physician who manages multiple conditions and reviews medications for age-related risks—treating the whole person, not one organ at a time. Fewer than 7,000 board-certified geriatricians serve ~58 million US adults 65+.
When you need them: Multiple chronic conditions, unexplained cognitive or functional decline, or specialists who aren't coordinating.
Geriatric Social Worker
Licensed clinical professional for the emotional, social, and logistical sides of aging—assessments, benefits, family conflict, and transitions. Community-based social workers often provide longer-term support than hospital-only ones.
When you need them: Rushed hospital discharge, family conflict around care decisions, or help navigating Medicare and Medicaid.
Geriatric Pharmacist
Medication safety expert for older adults—bodies process drugs very differently after 75. Reviews full lists for interactions and inappropriate prescriptions. Polypharmacy (five+ meds from non-coordinating doctors) is a leading preventable cause of hospitalization.
When you need them: Five or more medications, unexplained falls or confusion, or no single doctor who owns the full medication picture.
Geriatric Care Manager
Also called an Aging Life Care Professional—a private-pay coordinator (often nurse or social worker) who manages the full care picture, joins appointments, and supports long-distance families. Typically $75–$200/hour; rarely insurance-covered.
When you need them: You live far from your parent, the care situation is too complex to manage alone, or you need a professional advocate inside the medical system.
Loneliness
Loneliness and social isolation are serious health risks. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) and U.S. Surgeon General both treat them as public health priorities. Geriatricians screen for them as part of Multi-Complexity (hearing loss, mobility, bereavement, and retirement).
Geriatric Syndromes
Conditions that arise from multiple interacting problems—and are the main reason older adults lose independence or decline after hospitalization.
- FallsLeading cause of injury-related death in 65+; rarely random
- DeliriumSudden mental status change; a medical emergency often missed
- FrailtyDiminished physiological reserve—distinct from simply being old
- Prescribing CascadesSide effects mistaken for new conditions, prompting more drugs
- Urinary IncontinenceUnderreported, often treatable; contributes to falls and isolation
- Sensory ImpairmentHearing/vision loss is a top modifiable dementia risk factor
- Pressure InjuriesLargely preventable; signal significant systemic risk when present
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep my primary care doctor?
Yes. Geriatricians almost always work alongside your existing primary care provider, not instead of them. They typically step in as a consultant or co-manager when complexity increases—and then hand ongoing care back to your primary team.
When does someone need a geriatrician?
Usually when multiple age-related conditions start interacting in ways a single specialist can't untangle—frequent falls, cognitive changes, a growing medication list, or repeated hospitalizations. This often becomes relevant around age 75+, though it depends more on complexity than on a specific birthday.
How can I find a geriatrician?
The American Geriatrics Society maintains a searchable directory of board-certified geriatric healthcare professionals. Search the AGS directory
Do geriatricians work with other care teams?
Yes—geriatrics is deeply collaborative. There's significant overlap with palliative care around holistic, goals-focused care and quality of life. Geriatric teams routinely include social workers, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists, and chaplains—and connect naturally to caregiving families doing day-to-day support.
Follow: Geriatrics Voices Worth Knowing
These clinicians share practical, evidence-based geriatrics content online—a useful resource for adult children and family caregivers navigating care for aging parents.
Dr. Ellie, board certified Geriatrics MD, who cares for 65+ and helps adult kids feel connected. Education only, views my own.
Physician. MD MPH board certified in Geriatrics & Internal Medicine. Practical advice to age better. Advocates for addressing loneliness.
Maximizing joyspan, one person at a time—starting with Betty, age 97.
Sorting through specialists, facilities, and next steps? We can help you think it through.
Get in Touch