We all get to an age eventually where we have aches and pains. They usually don't have a specific cause other than 'old age'. And all too many doctors would prefer to just hand over yet one more prescription to try to placate the patient rather than run tests to find an exact cause. Senior medicine can be tricky indeed.

Too many seniors, however, have medicine cabinets so full of pill bottles and ointments that many of them are at a loss when it comes to understanding and explaining what each one is for.

In many situations, seniors on Medicare frequently change their supplemental insurance programs, and often because they are forced to. When this happens they end up with yet one more new doctor who is too busy to review their complete medical charts, and end up duplicating some of the prescriptions or worse, prescribing medications that are contraindicated to the ones already being taken.

Another common situation is someone who perhaps has 'stomach problems'. After changing doctors a few times in a year, this person could easily end up with three separate prescriptions for the exact same problem yet no one asks what else she is taking, and no one ever says, 'you don't need to take the other pills any more'.

Senior medicine is really a specialty that should be only handled by gerontologists ' doctors who specialize in the treatment of the elderly. But due to many insurance limitations, that's impossible. Most seniors are typically seen by general practitioners or internists who don't stick around long enough to get a good understanding of their overall health or even their family situation.

Too many seniors are prescribed medications that should really be given only when someone else is nearby to monitor the dosage, but that's not always possible. Innumerable problems can then ensue.

 

Related All