Home Health Care in Vista: Does Your Client’s Doctor Know Geriatrics?

Home Health Care in Vista Doctor VisitsFor home health care in Vista to be successful, it obviously needs the support of family, friends, and especially seniors’ regular doctors. Doctors who help seniors should have a thorough understanding of the special challenges they face and the best ways to meet them. Unfortunately, a recent study concluded that many doctors do not know what questions to ask when it comes to addressing the health needs of the elderly.

Failure to Investigate Past and Current Health Needs

Research done by an elderly health care advocacy group showed that many doctors, when taking on new senior patients, fail to inquire about major factors critical to their past and continuing health. These include a review of prescription drugs in use at the time; a screening for depression; and discussion of the dangers that slips and falls pose to aging people. A senior who is receiving home health care needs to have his or her doctor closely involved in these areas in order to minimize health risks.

Shallow Understanding of Geriatrics

At the root of these failures on the part of doctors, it is assumed, is a general lack of understanding of the specific risks and dangers that geriatric patients face. As the retired population grows quickly, there are very few geriatric specialists around in comparison to the growing geriatric patient population. If a general practitioner does not have a thorough working knowledge of geriatrics, he has little chance of pinpointing and preventing medical emergencies.

Home Health Care in Vista: An Important Job

With so many seniors gaining little assistance from their family doctors, it is even more important that the ones living at home have skilled nurses nearby to help. Home health care can help aging loved ones stay safe at home, make trips outside the house, and keep their prescription and other medical schedules on track.

Originally posted 2012-06-01 17:00:43.

Tim Colling
Tim Colling

Tim Colling is the founder and President of A Servant's Heart In-Home Care, which provided in-home caregiving services in San Diego County, and also of A Servant's Heart Geriatric Care Management, which provided
professional geriatric care management services and long term care placement services in San Diego County. Tim has more than 30 years of experience in management in a variety of industries. He held a Certified Care Manager credential from the National Academy of Certified Care Managers. Tim is also a Certified Public Accountant (retired), and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from California State University at San Diego. In addition to writing blog posts here for the Servant’s Heart blog, Tim also is a regular contributor to HealthLine.com and to FamilyAffaires.com as well as blogs of other eldercare services provider companies. Finally, Tim is also the president of A Servant's Heart Web Design and Marketing, which provides home care marketing as well as website design and online marketing for those who serve the elderly and their families.

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