Assessing the geriatric patient: planning for transitions of care.

Transitioning older adults from one care setting to another is often challenging, both for the patient and the health professional. The older adult often is stressed, both physically and psychologically, and may well be overwhelmed by requests for information, including a complete list of medications from different members of the interdisciplinary team. The goals of geriatric assessment are to begin a review of a patient's lifestyle and medication therapy prior to crisis and trauma, improving the outcomes of interventions and decreasing anxiety, for both patients and caregivers.