Providing medical care to older people can be complicated. People often have many different doctors at different locations. Travel and transportation issues become more difficult as people age. The drugs that are covered by the new Medicare prescription drug plan vary between insurance companies and change frequently. Assistance by a team of health care practitioners under the leadership of a primary care doctor or geriatrician is the best way to deal with these complexities. However, this ideal solution is often difficult to achieve.

Last full review/revision January 2009 by Mary Ann Anderson, PhD, RN