Although referring to clinicians throughout the text, this booklet is intended for use by a range of professionals dealing directly with patients—physicians, physicians-in-training, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, and other health care professionals. The aim is to introduce and/or reinforce communication skills essential in caring for older patients and their families.
Talking With Your Older Patient: A Clinician’s Handbook offers practical techniques and approaches to help with diagnosis, promote treatment adherence, make more efficient use of clinicians’ time, and increase patient and provider satisfaction.
Three points are important to remember:
l Stereotypes about aging and old age can lead patients and health professionals alike to dismiss or minimize problems as an inevitable part of aging. What we’re learning from research is that aging alone does not cause illness and that growing older does not automatically mean having to live with pain and discomfort.
l Many of this booklet’s suggestions may, at first glance, appear to be time-consuming, especially given the time constraints of most clinicians.
However, an initial investment of time can lead to long-term gains for physicians and patients. Time-intensive practices need not be inefficient.
You may get to know your older patient’s life history over the course of several visits rather than trying to get it all in one session.
l Older patients are diverse and unique, just like your younger patients.
You may see frail 60-year-olds and relatively healthy 80-year-olds. Your patients may be culturally diverse. Some may be quite active while others may be sedentary. The techniques offered here encourage you to view all older people as individuals who have a wide range of health care needs and questions.
Many physicians, nurses, researchers, and other health care professionals were generous in providing information and advice on making this edition of the Clinician’s Handbook useful. The Institute is grateful for their thoughtful contributions.
Richard J. Hodes, M.D., Director
National Institute on Aging
National Institutes of Health