Senior Medicine / Geriatrics

As your body ages, your health care needs change. It helps to have a doctor with the expertise to understand what your body is going through.

Get your primary care from a geriatrician or a physician with special training in keeping older adults healthy. Our doctors specialize in diagnosing and treating both routine and complex conditions affecting adults ages 75 and older.

Advanced specialty care is a significant benefit of getting your care at UC San Diego Health. Your PCP can easily make referrals to various specialties such as urology, ophthalmology and neurology.

What is Senior Medicine?

Senior medicine is a type of primary care that focuses on treating the whole person. That includes medical, social and emotional needs to improve your well-being.

Your UC San Diego Health geriatrician can monitor you regularly and take care of conditions that can accumulate over a life span — such as arthritis, heart disease and lung disease — along with common aging concerns like memory loss, chronic pain and depression.

Our comprehensive and coordinated services can help you manage your health conditions and achieve the best possible quality of life.

Nationally Recognized Care

Depend on us for exceptional care because our senior medicine program is ranked among the nation's top 25 programs for geriatric care by U.S. News & World Report. We're also ranked the #1 health system in San Diego.

As the region's only academic health system, we apply the latest advancements in research, education and clinical medicine to our care for you.

Older Adult Services

Your treatment is personalized, taking into consideration your unique goals and preferences. Our services include:

• Primary care
• Health maintenance
• Medical consultations
• Diagnostic evaluations
• Acute and chronic care
• Short-term behavioral therapy
• Medicare annual wellness visits

Convenient, Comprehensive Care

Our geriatrics clinic is one option for personalized and exceptional primary care — check our other choices for primary care around the region.

Access to Specialty Care

Choosing UC San Diego Health for primary care gives you access to our advanced, world-class specialty care. Your PCP can easily refer you to a range of specialists.

Our comprehensive programs for conditions, including arthritis, dementia, hearing loss, physical therapy and senior behavioral health, make it convenient to address all your health concerns.

View List of Specialty Care Services

Unique Geriatric Emergency Services

Our geriatric emergency rooms offer specialized care with trained teams to better serve the specific needs of seniors. We can help you and your caretakers to ensure a smooth transition home.

UC San Diego Health's La Jolla ER includes California's first accredited geriatric emergency department, with a Level 1 Gold accreditation — the highest and most comprehensive level. Our Hillcrest ER received a Level 2 Silver accreditation.

Read More About Geriatric ERs

Same-Day or Next-Day Care

Instead of going to the ER, you can use our Express Care and Urgent Care clinics for same-day or next-day walk-in care for various minor health concerns. Or you can save your spot online.

Save My Spot for Express or Urgent Care

Behavioral and Mental Health

You can receive short-term therapy for common mental health concerns — such as insomnia, anxiety, depression and family and relationship problems — right in your primary care clinic. Our integrated behavioral health providers can help you learn useful coping skills to enhance your health and well-being.

Read the Details and Get a Referral