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Chapter 4 - Screening and Prevention

from Section I - General Approach to the Care of the Elderly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2022

By
Mariah Robertson  and
Jessica L. Colburn
Edited by
Jan Busby-Whitehead ,
Samuel C. Durso ,
Christine Arenson ,
Rebecca Elon ,
Mary H. Palmer  and
William Reichel
Jan Busby-Whitehead
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Samuel C. Durso
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University, Maryland
Christine Arenson
Affiliation:
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
Rebecca Elon
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Mary H. Palmer
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
William Reichel
Affiliation:
Georgetown University Medical Center
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Summary

Preventive health is a broad term encompassing screening tests (e.g., for cancer, cardiovascular risk, or geriatric syndromes), healthy lifestyle counseling (e.g., nutrition and physical activity), immunizations, and safety considerations (e.g., falls, driving). These discussions become more important with age as a clinician considers an individual patient's goals and values, prognosis and life expectancy, and whether a patient is likely to benefit. The 4Ms (what Matters, Medications, Mentation, and Mobility) provide a useful framework for thinking about how to frame discussions with older adults in the primary care setting, and the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit provides an opportunity to review screening and prevention with an older adult and to update goals and preferences. The overarching goal should be to follow evidence-based practice, cause no harm to our patients, and align with what matters most to the patient.

Keywords

screeningpreventive healthagingpreventive medicinegeriatricsimmunizations
Type
Chapter
Information
Reichel's Care of the Elderly
Clinical Aspects of Aging
 , pp. 33 - 43
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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