Do elderly patients mind how doctors address them?

A survey was carried out in the Geriatric Unit at Cork Regional Hospital to determine how elderly patients would like to be addressed by their doctor. Two hundred patients over the age of 65 were given a Questionnaire asking them to state their preference. Only a minority (4.5%) expressed a definite preference for the formal mode of address. The remainder either did not mind (38%) or preferred to be addressed by their first name (57.5%). We concluded that most elderly patients do have a preference and this should be established on admission.