This pocket-sized text will function as a friendly, experienced, and knowledgeable geriatrician who is available for advice at all times.

This is a handbook, not a textbook. It is not exhaustive—we have focused on common problems, including practical help with common dilemmas that are not well covered by traditional tomes, while excluding the rare and unimportant.

In this fourth edition, we have continued to update sections where there have been advances in medicine as well as changes in working practices and environments.

We believe that the practice of geriatric medicine is an art form and aims to provide guidance to complement algorithms, protocols, and policies. The evidence-based literature in geriatric medicine is limited, so advice is often opinion- and experience-based.

The satisfaction of good geriatric care is lost to many who become overwhelmed by the breadth and complexity of seemingly insoluble problems. We provide a structured, logical, and flexible approach to solving problems, which we hope will give practical help to improve the care given to older patients in many settings.