Abstract
This chapter discusses the role of doctors in promoting high quality care for elderly people. Although the prime responsibility of doctors has traditionally been the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions, there are several other key roles that doctors undertake. The most important widening of this role lies in its extension beyond the acute organbased situation to the deployment of knowledge of patterns of chronic disease and disability in the provision of holistic care for elderly people. This is best seen in the specialty of geriatric medicine which is characterized by holistic care, comprehensive care services, interdisciplinary teamwork, managerial interest, relationship building and constant evolution; but many doctors other than specialists are involved in the care of elderly people.
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Further Reading
Andrews, K. (1987) Rehabilitation of the older Adult, Edwin Arnold, London.
Horrocks, P. (1982) The case for geriatric medicine: an agerelated specialty, in Recent Advances in Geriatric Medicine, Vol. 2 (ed. B. Isaacs), Churchill Livingstone, London.
Royal College of Physicians of London (1977) Report of Working Party on Medical Care of the Elderly, RCP, London.
Royal College of Physicians (1995) Ensuring Equity and Quality of Care for Elderly People, RCP, London.
Williamson, J. (1979) Notes on the historical development of geriatric medicine as a medical specialty. Age and Ageing, 8, 144–8.
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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Mayer, P.P., Dickinson, E.J. (1997). Doctors. In: Mayer, P.P., Dickinson, E.J., Sandler, M. (eds) Quality care for elderly people. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3003-3_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3003-3_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-61830-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-3003-3
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