Geriatrics

UT Southwestern Medical Center combines attentive and compassionate care with state-of-the-art medical resources to create one of the nation’s leading health-care programs for older adults. Our Geriatrics Program offers expert diagnosis by specialists who care about the needs of patients and families. Our geriatricians are specially trained to prevent and manage older adults’ unique and, often times, multiple health concerns. They develop care plans that address the special health care needs of older adults.

At UT Southwestern Medical Center, our geriatrics specialists focus on the complete individual, including social and psychological issues as well as medical conditions. We offer three geriatric programs:

• Geriatric primary care – Our physicians provide long-term primary care for patients 65 years of age and older.
  
  
• Comprehensive geriatric assessment - We evaluate older adults with complex medical and social conditions, including mobility issues, osteoporosis, urinary incontinence, rehabilitation needs, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and psychological disorders. We also analyze the patient’s current medications to determine whether they are clinically warranted and interact safely. This complete and coordinated evaluation occurs in one clinical setting and is performed by a team that includes a geriatrician, a geriatric nurse practitioner and a social worker who specializes in geriatrics. Each member of the team separately assesses the patient, and then they confer to create the best guidance for future care.
  
  
• Senior HouseCalls Program – We provide primary medical care to home-bound individuals 70 years of age and older. Health care is provided in the older adult’s home where medical staff can best integrate the efforts of family members and community resources such as traditional home-based health care.

Our geriatric specialists provide both primary care services and comprehensive geriatric assessments for patients and their families.

Patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions can also be seen by our neurosciences service. Patients with psychological disorders can also be seen by our mental health service. Patients with urinary incontinence can also be seen by our urology service.