Editing Geriatrics (section)

== Ethical and medico-legal issues ==
Elderly persons sometimes cannot make decisions for themselves. They may have previously prepared a [[power of attorney]] and [[advance directives]] to provide guidance if they are unable to understand what is happening to them, whether this is due to long-term dementia or to a short-term, correctable problem, such as [[delirium]] from a fever.

[[Geriatricians]] must respect the patients' privacy while seeing that they receive appropriate and necessary services. More than most specialties, they must consider whether the patient has the legal [[Moral responsibility|responsibility]] and [[Competence (law)|competence]] to understand the facts and make decisions. They must support [[informed consent]] and resist the temptation to manipulate the patient by withholding information, such as the dismal [[prognosis]] for a condition or the likelihood of recovering from surgery at home.

[[Elder abuse]] is the physical, financial, emotional, sexual, or other type of abuse of an older dependent. Adequate training, services, and support can reduce the likelihood of elder abuse, and proper attention can often identify it. For elderly people who are unable to care for themselves, geriatricians may recommend [[legal guardianship]] or [[conservatorship]] to care for the person or the estate.

Elder abuse occurs increasingly when caregivers of elderly relatives have a mental illness. These instances of abuse can be prevented by engaging these individuals with mental illness in mental health treatment. Additionally, interventions aimed at decreasing elder reliance on relatives may help decrease conflict and abuse. Family education and support programs conducted by mental health professionals may also be beneficial for elderly patients to learn how to set limits with relatives with psychiatric disorders without causing conflict that leads to abuse.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Labrum T | title = Factors related to abuse of older persons by relatives with psychiatric disorders | journal = Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics | volume = 68 | pages = 126–134 | year = 2017 | pmid = 27810660 | doi = 10.1016/j.archger.2016.09.007 }}</ref>