Geriatrics

The Department of Geriatric Medicine at Peking University People’s Hospital was established in 1985. For more than 30 years, the department has consistently upheld the principle that medical care is guided by “comorbidity management” and nursing by “meticulous precision”; all staff work closely together, and the department has advanced in parallel in medical care, teaching, research, and outreach capacity. The department is committed to providing older patients with individualized medical services based on whole-person care. As population aging progresses, the department focuses on numerous diseases that trouble older patients, including: osteoporosis, diabetes in older adults, constipation in older adults, comprehensive geriatric assessment, hypertension in older adults, atherosclerosis in older adults, cognitive impairment, and others. In expanding its medical outreach, the department focuses on training and support for community-based chronic disease management, explores the development and establishment of general practice, and has achieved notable results in postgraduate education in general practice, standardized training for general practitioners at all levels, and continuing education.

With regard to discipline development and professional structure, the Department of Geriatric Medicine is divided, according to the characteristics of disciplinary development, into three subspecialty groups: the Geriatric Cardiovascular and Respiratory Subgroup, the Geriatric Endocrinology, Metabolism and Cognition Subgroup, and the Geriatric Gastroenterology and Immunology Subgroup. It gives focused attention to and conducts research in areas including osteoporosis, diabetes in older adults, cognitive impairment, hypertension in older adults, atherosclerosis in older adults, constipation in older adults, geriatric nutrition, and comprehensive geriatric assessment. In response to characteristics such as multimorbidity and polypharmacy among older adults, our department conducts multidisciplinary joint ward rounds and works with the Pharmacy Department, Nutrition Department, and other departments to formulate medical decisions jointly, thereby improving the quality of medical services.

The Department of Geriatric Medicine has 1 professor, 3 chief physicians, 12 associate chief physicians, 3 attending physicians, and 1 resident physician. The ward has 6 nurses-in-charge, 10 nurse practitioners, and 4 nurses. There are 41 employees currently working in total.

The clinical work of the Department of Geriatrics is mainly divided into four parts: outpatient services, inpatient wards, the geriatric clinical examination room, and other clinical work related to medical care. It offers dedicated examination services such as ultrasound bone densitometry, Holter monitoring, 24-hour blood pressure monitoring, electrocardiography, rapid blood glucose testing, and preliminary sleep-breathing screening and monitoring, making it convenient for older patients to receive consultations and examinations.