JAGS Commentary: Geriatric Medicine is Advancing, Not Declining - A Proposal for New Metrics to Assess the Health of the Profession
The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) has published a commentary article, "Geriatric Medicine is Advancing, Not Declining: A Proposal for New Metrics to Assess the Health of the Profession."
The article's authors - Dr. Timothy W. Farrell and JAHF's Dr. Terry Fulmer, Amalia Korniyenko and Grace Hu - address workforce challenges in geriatric medicine and the misperception that the field is declining due to stagnant numbers of board-certified geriatricians of around 7,000.
While the demand for geriatricians is expected to increase, innovative geriatric care models and interdisciplinary efforts, such as the Institute for Health Care Improvement's Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) movement, supported by JAHF, Acute Care for the Elderly units, and Hospital at Home, are improving care for older adults. Efforts to expand the geriatrician workforce include innovative fellowship paths and initiatives like the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP).
The article also proposed new metrics to assess the health of geriatric medicine. These metrics go beyond counting geriatricians and include the impact of care models, education and leadership in the field. These models, programs and leadership opportunities suggest that the field is adapting to meet future needs.
Read the open-access JAGS article.
Learn more about JAHF's co-support of GWEP.
Learn more about JAHF's co-support of AFHS.
