For many people, by the time they reach their twilight years of their mid-70s, they are likely to have developed one or more complex health conditions, or had at least one health incident. If you have a senior parent or another loved one who has suffered from declining health and who needs more care, understanding the Ms of geriatrics will help you to better understand and meet their needs and strengthen your relationship.
The Ms of geriatrics, launched in 2017 by US and Canadian geriatric medicine specialists, are geared towards optimizing the care for seniors with complex medical issues. While they were first established to help physicians, therapists, nurses, and other healthcare providers to better address their patients’ needs, they can help all caregivers to broaden their skills and better provide well-rounded aid. Among families, they help to strengthen the team based approach to geriatric care, and are essential for helping older adults manage healthcare provider relationships and complex treatment plans. The Ms refer to the essential elements of care as people age and their needs change.
The first M stands for multicomplexity, which describes a person’s entire situation. Often as adults age, it can be easy to focus to the point of tunnel vision on the chronic conditions and illnesses they develop. Fixating on one specific disease and failing to consider the different facets and needs of their situation will only hinder proper care and treatment. For example, a person suffering from dementia will not only need memory related care, but also socialization to keep their mind stimulated and alert.
The second M stands for mind, and involves mental status, dementia, delirium, and depression. The patient’s state of mind must always be at the center of their treatment plan. Mental status assessment involves evaluating the patient’s level of consciousness, orientation, memory, attention, language and ability to think and reason. The presence of any cognitive impairments, such as dementia or delirium, should be monitored carefully and given the appropriate and necessary treatments.
For many older adults, depression is also a common issue and can have a serious negative impact on their quality of life. Screening and treating depression in older adults is critical for improving their mental health and well being.
Mobility is the next M, and as bodies age they lose range of motion which can impair mobility. This can put seniors at risk of falling and injuring themselves. The looming risk can weigh on their minds and cause them to feel uneasy. When developing a care plan for older adults, their degree of mobility should always be considered.
Medications are important as well, as more than one third of all prescription drugs in the US are taken by the elderly. Care teams should come together to discuss their patients ceasing the intake of unnecessary medications and work to ensure that they are getting the right doses, as well as identify adverse medication effects and the burden on the patients.
The last M, and possibly the most critical, is identifying what “matters most”. When care teams discuss this, they must consider the preferences and goals of the patient. What do they want their quality of health to look like? What adjustments can be made in terms of helping an aging person live with dignity?