We can all agree that as people approach their old age, say from 65 years, their health needs get intricate and more demanding.
This can be attributed to the physiological changes that occur in their bodies.
To begin with, the cells in the seniors’ bodies do not get replenished at the same rate as they did when they were younger.
In addition, their bodies do not respond to nutrition and medication in the same way, compared to their youthful years.
When it comes to catering to health needs associated with the seniors, two professionals come in handy; geriatricians and PCPs.
Since most seniors and their caregivers are not quite aware of what sets these professionals apart, this article gives information regarding this.
Specialization
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PCPs are healthcare professionals who have studied general medicine, usually up to the undergraduate and sometimes to the Master’s level. They are therefore often sought after for common health issues like the common cold, infections, acute pain management and some nutritional-related matters. They are the first point of contact with individuals you find in hospitals. They can attend to any emergency and common health matters across all age brackets. Depending on their area of study, they can be internists, family doctors, or even pediatricians.
Geriatricians are healthcare practitioners who have specialized in healthcare matters relating to old people, usually over 65 years of age. At times, they can also act as the first contact person at the hospitals and still go ahead to offer old age-related services.
Medical Issues
PCPs address common health matters relating to people of all ages including the youth and middle age. They are the people you consult with common issues like colds, and body aches including headaches and other acute pains. They are also involved in preventative care such as vaccinations, screening such as imaging and routine checks.
Conversely, geriatricians focus on health matters involving seniors. These health issues come in the form of chronic conditions such as cancer or arthritis. They can also be in the form of comprehensive care such as nutritional and psychosocial support to help in dealing with age-related challenges. The psychosocial support extends even to the effective preparation for their end-of-life stages.
Patient Focus
As people approach or exceed 65 years of age, at least one of the age-related conditions often affects them. These can be arthritis, dementia, frailty, and reduced or complete loss of cognitive functions. Conditions like dementia and reduced cognitive functions take away their ability to explain their health needs to family doctors. Frailty and osteoporosis can render the aged impartially immobile and they may even fall and sustain physical injuries. This is where geriatricians come in; to address these age-related health concerns so that the aged can lead happy lives before their end-of-life. In conclusion, geriatricians are fully focused on providing the aged with comprehensive as well as personalized healthcare that is tailored to their specific needs.
PCPs on the other hand are the first contact persons for common health needs. After diagnosing, testing and treating common problems, PCPs refer the aged to geriatricians for more in-depth and personalized healthcare.
Location of Operation
Due to their scope of work that involves, diagnosing, testing and treating general health matters across all ages, PCPs are mostly confined to hospitals and clinics. In such a scope of work, equipment like stethoscopes, microscopes, imaging machines and lab equipment come in handy. Since these can only be found in hospitals and clinics, you can expect to find these professionals in such institutions and facilities.
After running the necessary tests, imaging and diagnosis, PCPs refer the aged to geriatricians for a more personalized approach. What this implies is that geriatricians do not require much equipment apart from common health devices like glucose and pressure machines. For this reason, geriatricians can come to see their patients from the comfort of their homes, thereby saving the very frail seniors the hassles of traveling. Alternatively, they can also be accessed in healthcare facilities.
As you may have realized, there is a clear-cut difference between these two healthcare professions. However, even with all the differences, the two come in handy as far as age-related healthcare is concerned. The two professions complement and rely on each other in offering the best approach to the elderly healthcare needs. PCPs diagnose, test and treat general elderly health issues. They also run tests and diagnoses for complex issues before passing them on to geriatricians for more customized treatment.
