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What is a geriatrician, and when do older adults see one?

This page sticks to what the Health in Aging Foundation, NIA and Medicare.gov publish: what a geriatrician is, when the Foundation says to consider one, and what NIA says to bring to a doctor's visit.

Arun Verma, co-founder of Triangle · 2026-10-17

This is not clinical evidence and not medical advice. It does not replace your care team. Discuss anything here with your clinician before you act on it.

What is a geriatrician?

A geriatrician is a medical doctor who specializes in caring for older adults. The American Geriatrics Society's Health in Aging Foundation says geriatricians are board-certified in internal medicine or family medicine and have extra training in geriatrics. They often care for older adults who are frail or medically complex. Geriatrics itself is the part of healthcare that looks at older adults' special health needs and abilities.

How is a geriatrician different from a primary care doctor?

A geriatrician can be a primary care doctor. NIA says primary care physicians frequently are family practitioners, internists or geriatricians. It adds that a geriatrician specializes in older people, though family practitioners and internists may also have a lot of experience with older patients. The Health in Aging Foundation says primary care physicians, meaning general internists and family physicians, care for most older people, while geriatricians frequently provide the primary care for older adults who have the most complicated medical and social problems. It also says geriatricians are often sought for consultations for the frailest older persons.

What does a geriatrician look at?

The whole person, with the aim of helping an older adult stay healthy and independent for as long as possible. The Health in Aging Foundation says geriatrics professionals have special training for this and look at the whole person. Their work centers on five areas called the Geriatrics 5Ms. They include multicomplexity (having several health problems at once), mobility (safe movement and preventing falls), medications (using medicines safely) and what matters most (a person's goals, values and preferences). Geriatrics works as a team, and the team also supports family members and caregivers, including close friends. It may include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, consultant pharmacists, physical therapists and occupational therapists, among others. On its tip sheet, the Foundation lists team duties including evaluating a person's social supports and living situation, considering the ability to do daily activities such as bathing, dressing and eating, and giving special attention to personal preferences and values. The Foundation's Basic Facts page also says geriatricians often care for frail or medically complex older adults in many settings, such as hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, medical offices, or even a person's home.

When do older adults see a geriatrician?

The Health in Aging Foundation names three situations where it says to consider seeing one. The first is health problems that cause weakness, disability or frailty, such as trouble moving and caring for themselves; frailty means feeling weak and having trouble with daily activities. The second is family members or caregivers, including close friends, who feel very stressed or overwhelmed. The third is an older adult who has difficulty following complicated treatment plans, or sees many different healthcare providers and needs help coordinating care. A fair question for the older adult's own doctor is whether seeing a geriatrician makes sense for them.

How do you find a geriatrician?

The Health in Aging Foundation has a search tool that gives a list of providers in your area who are trained in the special health care needs of older adults. You search by state, and you can add a city to narrow the results. It says a referral from the directory is not an endorsement of the professional, and that listed professionals are members of the American Geriatrics Society. Medicare.gov's page on doctor services offers a finder for providers who take Medicare. The page text doesn't mention geriatricians. It says checking with the doctor or group practice is how to find out whether they're accepting new patients. NIA describes narrowing a list to two or three doctors and calling their offices, and says the office staff is a good source of information about the doctor's education and qualifications, office policies and payment procedures. Among the questions it suggests considering when learning about a doctor is "Do you have many older patients?" Two more questions you could bring to a geriatrics practice: how it handles what matters most to the person, meaning goals, values and preferences, and which other members of the geriatrics team, such as a consultant pharmacist, are part of the practice.

What should you bring to a first visit?

NIA's list for a doctor's appointment starts with all prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and herbal remedies or supplements in a bag, or a list of everything taken with the dose. It also has insurance cards, the names and phone numbers of other doctors, and medical records if the doctor doesn't already have them. The same page adds eyeglasses and a hearing aid that is working well. A first appointment with a newly chosen doctor may include a medical history and a physical exam, according to NIA's choosing-a-doctor page. If you haven't already met the doctor, the page says to ask for extra time during the visit to ask any questions you have about the doctor or the practice.

What should the medicine list and medical history cover?

NIA's tips for caregivers describe a list with the names, dosage and schedule of all medicines, vitamins, herbal remedies, over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements the older adult takes, including those prescribed by other doctors. For the history, NIA's appointment-preparation page says to tell a new doctor about illnesses, operations, medical conditions and the other doctors seen. It adds that you may want to ask for the practice's medical history form ahead of the visit, so it can be filled out at home, where there is time and the information is within reach. Among the things NIA's appointment-preparation page says to tell the doctor about since the last visit are emergency room or specialist treatment and any recent change in medications and the effects they have had.

What do NIA's caregiver tips say about sitting in on a visit?

NIA's tips for caregivers advise letting the older adult answer the doctor's questions unless you have been asked to, and trying not to fall into a two-way conversation between caregiver and doctor. They also say to always include the person you care for. On notes, the tips point out that writing down what the doctor recommends helps both the caregiver and the older person remember what was said, and that the notes can be shared with other caregivers later. They also describe bringing a list of questions or concerns, starting with the most important ones.

Sources

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