Three of the most common problems I have noticed with the elderly while working in the home setting
are problems with cognition, medications, finances, activities of daily living and depression, which are
common problems seen in the elderly.
A geriatric screening tool cannot be relied on solely, but they do
provide very valuable information and may prompt physicians to also consider various aspects of
functioning (Deck, et al., 2015). For this patient, a geriatric assessment would be the best health risk
assessment tool to use. The geriatric assessment is an evaluation of an older person’s functional ability,
comorbid conditions, cognition, psychological position, social provision, nutritional status and review of
the patient’s medications (Deck, et al., 2015). This is a well-rounded health risk assessment that will
assist in identifying problems that the patient is facing and provide an opportunity to emphasize health
promotion and disease prevention, which has the potential to hinder obtaining optimal outcomes (Wu &
Orlando, 2015).
Because the patient is 76-year, has disabilities and lives in an urban setting, my concerns are his safety,
access to care, ability to care for himself financially and physically, and his comorbidities. My five
questions would be:


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- Summer '15
- Gerontology