Clinical implications of aging physiology.

The increasing biologic uniqueness of older persons requires an individualized approach to their medical care. The physician must be aware of his or her own attitudes and beliefs regarding aging and death and how these views influence the physician-patient relationship. The physician must understand how older persons behave when they are ill and know how to interpret a changing constellation of multiple disease possibilities and interrelationships. The physician requires knowledge skills and the willingness to carefully evaluate each individual situation and to formulate a specifically tailored care plan. Because of the magnitude and complexity of medical, psychological, and social problems in older persons, the physician must cooperate with other members of the health care team. The accumulation and constant refinement of these skills defines the maturity and scientific grounding of the physician.