Improving quality in psychogeriatric treatment.

As the geriatric population continues to grow, psychiatry's neglect of the elderly will have to be addressed. The standard of practice in the treatment of the elderly has lagged substantially behind the knowledge base of geriatric psychiatry. Quality assurance is one methodology for attempting to bridge this gap. This article reviews some of the barriers to effective service delivery to the elderly and discusses aspects of geriatric psychiatry that are important for quality assurance programs to consider.