In addition to medical treatment, intervention for geriatric patients includes educating care givers about the patient's condition, training them in techniques for modifying the patient's environment and managing behavioral problems, and providing them with information about available resources. For an older patient living alone in the community, access to information and referral services is especially important. The goal of geriatric assessment in nursing homes depends on the expected length of stay. Those patients admitted for terminal care need a supportive, hospice-type environment. The goals of treatment for these patients are to preserve function and to minimize the use of medications.
Geriatric assessment can identify the level of care that a patient needs.
For hospitalized patients returning home, the prehospitalization living situation may need to be changed. If the patient is placed in a nursing home, the fit between the patient and the environment is crucial, taking into consideration such factors as staff training and the patient population. Patients may feel most comfortable in a facility sensitive to their ethnic background or in one with patients who have similar conditions. Alzheimer's patients may do best in a facility with programs geared to persons with dementia. For frail patients in a primary care setting, assessments should be repeated yearly or more frequently if unstable medical conditions develop or the patient loses functional ability.