[Integrative medicine and geriatrics : towards a convergence?].

In recent years integrative medicine has been the subject of growing interest among the overall population as well as the medical and scientific community. According to the Swiss health survey, approximately 40 % of the Swiss population regularly use complementary therapies. The fields of application of integrative medicine in geriatrics seem large (pain, cognitive disorders, end-of-life support, anxiety, etc.

[Assessment of the Palliative Performance Scale in a specialized palliative care unit].

The assessment of vital prognosis in the palliative setting is essential to provide care adapted to the patient's needs. The objective of this research was to compare the survival of patients in our specialized palliative care unit with that estimated by the "Palliative Performance Scale" (PPSv2) described in the literature, in order to better define the therapeutic project. Our results are comparable to those of the selected studies up to the PPSV level of 30%.

[A mixed intra-hospital mobile team of geriatrics and palliative care: The Neuchâtel experience].

The increasing life expectancy, the earlier detection of terminal illnesses and the increasing complexity of care pathways led us to propose an innovative response within the Neuchâtel Hospital Network (RHNe), in the form of a mixed intra-hospital mobile team (GSPmob), composed of doctors and nurses from geriatrics and palliative care. Through geriatric and palliative assessment, we are able to highlight the patient's different medical problems. Our team, after two years of existence, has met our patients' needs as well as the hospital teams' needs.

[Practical picking up of elderly people in case of falls].

Falls in old persons are now considered as a "true" geriatric syndrome, because are frequent, multi-factorial with severe outcomes: increased morbidity, functional inabilities and mortality. In our current health care system, the primary care physician is the first to detect the fall and indeed to manage and coordinate the various interventions of the multiple healthcare professionals. To be effective, he needs simple screening tools, and also structured procedures as well as the support of specialized networks of care.

[Evidence-based medicine and palliative medicine].

Efficacy of treatments used in patients at the end-of-life must be evaluated according to ethical issues and specificities of the palliative population, i.e.: major vulnerability, difficulties to obtain informed consent, fragility of balance between research and clinical role, problems to evaluate risks and benefits of palliative care research.