About Eye Care for Older Adults

The Aging Eye

In 2014, the American Geriatric Society (AGS) awarded the American Academy of Ophthalmology Committee on Aging (AAO COA) a grant from the Geriatrics for Specialists Initiative (GSI) Small Grants Program.  Support for this award is provided by the Atlantic Philanthropies and the John A. Hartford Foundation though their grants to the AGS.

Our project aims to improve the eye care of older adults as a core part of the mission and goals of all ophthalmologists, both in training and in practice.  We also hope to provide ophthalmic education to other medical specialists interested in senior healthcare, as well as to patients and their families.  Our goal is to provide a single, peer and patient recognized, high quality ophthalmic website presence for geriatric ophthalmology, presented in four parts, and continuously updated.  We appreciate your visit, as well as your feedback on your experience.

Hilary A. Beaver, MD
Chair Person, American Academy of Ophthalmology Committee on Aging

Areas of Focus

Podcasts

These educational podcasts cover a continuously updated library of topics pertaining to eye care in older adults, designed to educate practicing clinicians, patients, and their families.  The topics include common aging eye ailments with discussions by leaders in eye care, and covers diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of eye disease.  Many 2014 podcasts cover the work done by ophthalmology Jahnigen Scholars, discussing their Jahnigen research and their current research on aging, highlighting the application of their research in furthering the eye care of older adults. 

Residents Toolkit

The Ophthalmology toolkit was revised and expanded in 2014-2015 and is housed at the American Geriatrics Society “Geriatrics for Specialty Residents Toolkit (GSI): Ophthalmology."
Access to the Geriatrics for Specialty Residents Toolkit is free to all registered users of the site, and registration to the site is free.  Registration is performed once and subsequent access is seamless from our site.

AGS LOGIN INFORMATION

Non AGS Members

If you are not an AGS member, you will need to register and create a member profile. Go to the Non Member tab in the upper right corner of the home page and select Register Now.

Once registered to log in, select the Non Member tab in the upper right corner. Enter the username and password that you selected at registration, and press the Log in button. You will know you are successfully logged in when you see the welcome message with your name in the upper right corner instead of the log in fields.

AGS Members

If you are an AGS member, you are automatically registered on GeriatricsCareOnline.org. Please do not register as a new user on the site - if you do, you will not be recognized by the site as a member and will not receive member pricing on products. Instead, on the GeriatricsCareOnline.org home page, select the purple AGS Member tab in the upper right corner. AGS members then log in with the same username and password used to access their MyAGS account. You will know you are successfully logged in when you see the welcome message with your name in the upper right corner instead of the log in fields.

Delirium Guidelines

The elderly population age 65 and older is the fastest growing age group worldwide.  This population is at greater risk of postoperative delirium, prolonging hospital stays and increasing patient morbidity and mortality.  Delirium is itself increased by sensory deprivation such as compromised vision.

 The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Clinical Practice Guideline on Postoperative Delirium in Older Adults was developed to help clinicians to recognize patients at risk, and to take appropriate measures to prevent onset of delirium, and to limit the severity of delirium if it does occur.  The recommended measures improve both safety and outcomes for both inpatient and outpatient procedures.  The guidelines provide a framework to assist hospital systems, practicing clinicians, and allied health professionals with evidence-based prevention measures and treatments. These free Guidelines are linked through the AGS website.

The Research Agenda-Setting Program (RASP) for Geriatric Ophthalmology

The RASP site allows access to the original 3 reports (2004-2008) reviewing the existing literature on eye disease of aging, and suggesting areas of aging research that should be pursued.  The 2015 RASP is a continuation of the original RASP, updating the intervening 10 years of research, reviewing if the questions raised by the original RASP have been answered, and proposing new research for future study.  The 2015 RASP is anticipated for publication and posting later this calendar year.

Committee on Aging

Hilary A. Beaver, MD, Chairperson
Houston, TX

Sophie J. Bakri, MD
Rochester, MN

Milam A. Brantley, Jr., MD
Brentwood, TN

Allison A. Dublin, MD
Sandy Springs, GA

James E. Kempton, MD
Cheshire, CT

Andrew G. Lee, MD, Consultant
Houston, TX

Elliott H. Sohn, MD
Iowa City, IA

Savak Teymoorian, MD
Laguna Hills, CA

Stephen H. Tsang, MD, PhD, Consultant
New York, NY

Website Contributors

Neil M. Bressler, MD
Baltimore, MD

Amy G. Coburn, MD
Houston, TX

Allison A. Dublin, MD
Sandy Springs, GA

Joshua L. Dunaief, MD, PhD
Philadelphia, PA

Jacque L. Duncan, MD
San Francisco, CA

Miriam Englander, MD
Boston, MA

Zhuang T. Fang, MD, MS
Los Angeles, CA

Linné Girouard, MLIS, AHIP
Houston, TX

Bradley J. Katz, MD
Salt Lake City, UT

Simon K. Law, MD
Los Angeles, CA

Richard Alan Lewis, MD, MS
Houston, TX

Pradeep Y. Ramulu, MD, PhD
Baltimore, MD

Amy C. Schefler, MD
Houston, TX

Chirag Shah, MD
Lawrenceville, NJ                                                                                

Khadija S. Shahid, OD, FAAO
Iowa City, IA

Charles C. Wykoff, MD, PhD
Houston, TX

Sushma Yalamanchili, MD
Houston, TX