Comprehensive geriatric assessment

Summary Geriatric assessment is a multidimensional and interdisciplinarily deployed diagnostic process to evaluate functional capacities and impairments in geriatric patients. The results of geriatric assessment are the basis for planning of therapeutic interventions in the multidisciplinary geriatrics team. Geriatric assessment adds essential information to the state-of-the-art diagnostic tests, such as physical examination, laboratory tests, or imaging techniques, to acquire a holistic picture about health and functional problems and needs of geriatric patients. Studies have demonstrated that geriatric assessment and the following geriatric treatment improves prognosis and increases the chance of older patients remaining in their own home after discharge from hospital after admission for an acute disease.