Geriatric medicine in China: The past, present, and future

Abstract

Geriatric medicine in China started to develop as a medical specialty in the 1950s and has now become an extensive national healthcare network for the elderly. As population aging accelerates and the number of senior citizens keeps rising, major issues of healthcare delivery for this segment need to be addressed. Inequality in access to quality health care continues to exist between the public and private sectors and between urban centers and rural areas. The education and practice of geriatric medicine also face a range of problems, such as inadequate teaching of geriatrics-related subjects in the medical education curriculum, the design of residency and fellowship programs, and the integration of geriatric principles into clinical practice. Government commitment, investment from the private sector, and improvement in geriatric medicine professionals’ knowledge and skills are required to bring geriatric care to a higher level.