[Individualization of the frail elderly people and use of health care services].

The challenge of identifying frail elderly subjects is important to optimize the management of care for the old patients. The recognition of frailty allows clinicians to detect subjects whose autonomy is precarious in relation to decreased physical performances and\or vulnerability of their psychosocial stability. A better distinction of healthy old people from frail elderly in an emergency ward makes possible to target the medical care toward the individuals who are more likely to benefit from it and to work out the best strategies of prevention.

[Should we treat all the diseases of the elderly?].

The coexistence of several diseases, the loss of autonomy and certain social and behavioural factors lead to polymedication. It is important to reduce the number of drugs prescribed to prevent drug-drug interactions or interactions between drugs and a system weakened by age and comorbiditiy. Because of the limited number of therapeutic trials performed in individuals aged >75 years, clinical consideration based on the consensus of experts is the primary way of establishing priorities and making rational choices.