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Integrating Geriatrics into the Specialties of Internal Medicine:
Moving Forward from Awareness to Action
Background
Internal medical specialists provide critically important care to older Americans. The majority of health care for older adults is provided by internal medicine specialists—allergists and immunologists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, gastroenterologists, general internists, hematologists, infectious disease specialists, nephrologists, oncologists, pulmonary and critical care specialists, and rheumatologists. As the elderly population increases, the healthcare system must adapt to meet the needs of the population created by this demographic shift.
Through strong partnerships with internal medicine and geriatrics specialty societies, the National Institute on Aging and other institutes of the National Institutes of Health and the generous commitment of the John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF), ASP will take a multifaceted approach to improve the position of geriatrics across the spectrum of internal medicine specialties over the next four years.
In addition to the generous commitment of the JAHF, The Atlantic Philanthropies, provided a $250,000 grant to ASP to improve the care of older adults through the augmentation of clinical policies, clinical guidelines, or quality improvement metrics with content appropriate for the increasing number of elderly patients cared for by internists. Under the grant, these clinical policies will be produced and endorsed by 11 internal medicine specialty societies.
ASP anticipates this project will have several important outcomes. Experts from each of the specialty societies will review and augment 44 clinical guidelines, policies, or quality improvement metrics with recommendations relevant to the growing elderly population. Once created, these new policies can be disseminated through specialty society websites and educational materials made available to the societies’ members to influence the care delivered to elderly patients by internists.
This new project, “Integrating Geriatrics into the Specialties of Internal Medicine: Moving Forward from Awareness to Action,” marks a new direction for ASP’s commitment to improving the care delivered by internists to older Americans.
For information about the predecessor to this proposal, "Toward Optimal Geriatric Care: Integrating Geriatrics into the Subspecialties of Internal Medicine," click here.
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