How to Improve Dermatologic Care of Older Adults

WASHINGTON, DC — Whole-person, age-friendly dermatological care for older adults considers the 5Ms of geriatrics — medications, mobility, what matters, mentation, and multi-complexity — and can be optimized through “simple steps you can take in your practice this month,” geriatrician Christina Prather, MD, told dermatologists at the ElderDerm 2025 conference on dermatology in the older patient.

For medication adherence and safety, for instance, possible steps include changing your practice’s pre-visit call center script to prompt patients to bring in “everything they take — the supplements, the eye drops, the ointments, the pills,” Prather said, and then doing “a plastic bag biopsy” before the visit ideally, or afterward if necessary.

“The MAs [medical assistants] in my clinic know what