Geriatric stepped care: an organized approach.

This paper deals with the issue of geriatric care and the medical, financial, social and political ramifications of the demographic chages that will be occurring in Canada over the next 40 years. Some suggestions for solutions to the problems arising from those changes are discussed, including an attempt to apply the philosophy of preventative medicine in dealing with the ageing population. A "stepped care" approach that will help to avoid the random accessing of unco-ordinated and diverse support systems in the community is outlined.