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. 2025 Mar 5;67(1):e1-e5.
doi: 10.4102/safp.v67i1.6027.

A 'COMMON SENSE' approach to geriatric patients in clinical practice

Lara S Greenstein  1
Affiliations

A 'COMMON SENSE' approach to geriatric patients in clinical practice

Lara S Greenstein. S Afr Fam Pract (2004). .

Abstract

South Africa has a critical shortage of geriatricians and a growing ageing population. Most geriatric patients are cared for by their primary care practitioner who may not have been trained in the care of the older adult. The comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is the cornerstone of the geriatric consultation but can be time-consuming. By using a common sense approach to the geriatric patient, none of the important components of the CGA will be missed. The mnemonic 'COMMON SENSE' can be used as a tool to assist in identifying the common conditions that older adults experience, as well as highlight specific considerations that become increasingly important in this population. Many simple and time-effective screening tools are available to assist in diagnosing the geriatric syndromes which can be easily implemented in a busy primary care practice.

Keywords: common geriatric conditions; common sense; comprehensive geriatric assessment; geriatrics syndromes; screening tools.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The comprehensive geriatric assessment with the COMMON SENSE components.
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