Care of the Geriatric Colorectal Surgical Patient and Framework for Creating a Geriatric Program: A Compendium from the 2019 ASCRS Annual Meeting.

The care of geriatric patients is complex, and patients are often treated inappropriately based on their age or their degree of frailty, or both. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate frailty and identify areas of intervention before surgery is undertaken. In addition, patients' goals should be taken into account from the start of a treatment plan and functional recovery should be measured and addressed. This compendium presents data to help colon and rectal Surgeons evaluate and treat geriatric patients. In addition, to help all surgeons function in a multidisciplinary, geriatric friendly environment, a financial framework is included. The framework can be used to advocate for the hiring of specialists trained in caring for older adults.