Geriatrics in the PDI News
Mr Michael Tan, writes about Geriatrics and care of older Filipinos in a recent article in the PDI.
Click for here the complete article Philippine Daily Inquirer PDI (10.28.09).
Excerpts below:
Geriatrics is also about developing more autonomy or independence for the elderly. That includes encouraging the elderly to set their own goals for health. This is where problems often arise. Non-geriatricians tend to keep patients passive: take this medicine, don’t take that food, stay in bed. Unfortunately for the elderly people, that passive role often leads to a further deterioration of their health. This is worsened by Filipino cultural norms that also emphasize passivity and dependence for the elderly.
Less is more
Geriatricians want their patients to be active whenever possible. When it comes to medicines, less is more for geriatricians because of more risks of side effects, and of drugs interacting with each other. Again, this sometimes runs counter to local culture: our elderly sometimes boast that they are taking 10 pills a day.
We will need more geriatricians who have both the biomedical skills and cultural competence or sensitivity to care for our elderly. Moreover, geriatricians could play another important role of training caregivers, friends and relatives, somewhat like para-geriatricians. I know The Medical City offers such training workshops from time to time.
