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Gerontology: Assessment And Ethical Concerns Essay

It is comprised of 19 comorbid conditions that give a complete indication of the patient's state of health. The basic activities of daily living (ADLs) include bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence, feeding, communication, visual capability and walking. These functions are assessed through direct examination of the specific activity. Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are those needed to live an independent life. They include the functional ability to shop, prepare food, clean house, do laundry drive or use public transportation and administer medications. These functions are assessed through house visits and as a cumulative evaluation of general geriatric assessment and psychiatric assessment tools.

Physicians commonly use the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) to perform a cognitive and mood assessment respectively (De Vriendt, Gorus, Bautmans & Mets, 2011). The MMSE assesses the cognitive domains of orientation, memory, calculation, language and constructional ability through a series of standardized questions.

Ethical considerations that are often associated with elderly patients include informed consent, medical and psychological conditions that may influence the patient's ability to approve of a treatment, and related privacy issues (Martin & Bush, 2008). Further ethical dilemmas may involve surrogate decision making, withdrawing...

A physician treating the ever-increasing number of geriatric patients must be aware of these issues in assessing the patient and determining a treatment plan.
References

Charlson M.E., Pompei P., Ales K.L., Mackenzie C.R. (1987). A New Method of Classifying Prognostic Co-Morbidity in Longitudinal-Studies -- Development and Validation. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 40, 373-383

De Vriendt, P., Gorus, E., Bautmans, I., Mets, T. (2011). Conversion of the Mini-Mental State Examination to the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health Terminology and Scoring System. Gerontology, [Epub ahead of print]

Elsawy, B., Higgins, K.E. (2011). The geriatric assessment. Am Fam Physician, 83, 1, 48-56

Martin, T.A., Bush, S.S. (2008). Ethical considerations in geriatric neuropsychology. NeuroRehabilitation, 23, 5, 447-54

Miller, K.E., Zylstra, R.G., Standridge, J.B. (2000). The geriatric patient: a systematic approach to maintaining health. Am Fam Physician, 61, 4, 1089-104

Mueller, P.S., Hook, C.C., Fleming, K.C. (2004). Ethical issues in geriatrics: a guide for clinicians. Mayo Clin Proc, 79, 4, 554-62

Wallace, M., Fulmer, T. (2007). Fulmer SPICES: An Overall Assessment Tool for Older Adults. Institute for Geriatric Nursing, 1

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References

Charlson M.E., Pompei P., Ales K.L., Mackenzie C.R. (1987). A New Method of Classifying Prognostic Co-Morbidity in Longitudinal-Studies -- Development and Validation. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 40, 373-383

De Vriendt, P., Gorus, E., Bautmans, I., Mets, T. (2011). Conversion of the Mini-Mental State Examination to the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health Terminology and Scoring System. Gerontology, [Epub ahead of print]

Elsawy, B., Higgins, K.E. (2011). The geriatric assessment. Am Fam Physician, 83, 1, 48-56

Martin, T.A., Bush, S.S. (2008). Ethical considerations in geriatric neuropsychology. NeuroRehabilitation, 23, 5, 447-54
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