The Role of a Multidisciplinary Team for Shared Strategies in Gerosurgery

Geriatric conditions are complex, multifactorial, and multi-faceted, and require multidisciplinary assessment and intervention to support older surgical patients in the whole continuum of care that starts from the contemplation of surgical intervention in primary care through to complete recovery. The multidisciplinary team is the pivotal center of planning and implementation of perioperative care and is composed of members that span across several healthcare disciplines including medical, surgical, nursing, and technical support personnel, extending to administrative staff and family members. Perioperative team strategies for older patients’ care take different forms but are all ideally centered on the patient’s adaptive capacity to surgery and specific needs, which are not only medical but also personal, social, and ethical. Tight team integration, clear and shared patient-centered goals, good communication, mutual respect, and effective leadership, together with attention to detail and consistency in performance, appear integral to improved patient outcomes.