[Management of elderly patients by the family physician]

The care for elderly patients is traditionally a task of the general practitioner and will be of increasing importance in the future. Medical considerations focus on the patient's functional abilities which should play a primary role. These should, however, not neglect the patient's resources for the development of social and mental competence. Medical interventions so far will also need social indications evaluating their importance in the every day life context of the individual patient. Based on scientific knowledge of geriatrics and gerontology there should be a wide-spread introduction of standardized instruments into geriatric diagnostics and evaluation. Geriatric screening may be one example. This will support the development of a special geriatric quality management in general practice. There is a need for further development of ambulatory rehabilitation for the elderly. The general practitioner in this field will have to control the teamwork with rehabilitation-professionals and professionals from the social support services.