GERIATRIC PATIENT.

A common misconception regarding geriatrics is to classify to all elderly people as geriatric patients.

It’s possible to be a geriatric patient being under 75 years old, and it’s also possible not to be a geriatric patient being over 75 years old, although the second case is more usual.

The geriatric patient definition is determined by several criteria, from which three or more must be present:

• ·      Older than 75 years old.
• ·      Relevant comorbidity.
• ·      Disabling main disease.
• ·      There is mental illness.
• ·      There are social problems related to their health.

It is very important to know these criteria so that we can classify geriatric patients correctly.