A New Curriculum to Link the Basic Science of Aging with Geriatric Practice

There is a growing national awareness that the extraordinary extension of life expectancy in our society poses an impending crisis for our health-care system. This is due in large part to the scarcity of primary-care providers, especially geriatricians. To address these concerns, the Obama administration has considered wide-ranging health-care reforms. Academic geriatric organizations have proposed that geriatricians take the lead in working with other primary-care providers to develop a continuum of care to optimize health across a range of ages and stages. This article recommends a collaboration between basic scientists and geriatricians in order to develop a curriculum that would identify how new knowledge derived from basic aging research bears on the inception of aging-related conditions and diseases that emerge over time. This information could be used to create new approaches to reducing or postponing diseases in later life. Health providers participating in this curriculum would gain new insights about aging, health maintenance, risk factors for disease inception, and appropriate interventions over the life course of their adult patients, helping them to achieve a healthier longevity.