Office holders (2023)
President: Anna Björg Jónsdóttir
Secretary: Helga Hansdóttir
Treasurer: Hildur Þórarinsdóttir
The Icelandic Geriatric Medicine Society (Félag íslenskra öldrunarlækna-FÍÖ/IGS) was founded in 1989. It has a close collaboration with the Icelandic Gerontological Society which was founded in 1978. Members of the IGS were 32 in the beginning of 2023. Members include specialists in Geriatrics, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and General Practitioners.
The IGS has a representative on the editorial board of ÖLDRUN which is a journal published by the Icelandic Gerontological Society.
Organization of the health care system
Overview of geriatric services: Iceland has a total population of just over 300,000 thousand people and two-thirds live in the Reykjavik. In spite of record breaking increase in life expectancy at birth (men >79, and women >83 years), the proportion of those aged 70 and older is less than 10% of the population due to high fertility rates.
Approximately 85% of the health care is publicly funded.
There are both both acute and postacute care departments run by geriatric specialists in Iceland. There is an ambulatory service for evaluation and followup of geriatric patients and a specialized memory clinic for diagnosis, treatment and followup of dementia. Geriatricians in collaboration with general practitioners also service selected nursing homes.
Training in Geriatric Medicine
Interest among physicians in formal geriatric training has been growing during the past decade and there are currently 17 doctors with specialist training in geriatric medicine held appointments at academic hospitals in the year 2013. Majority of Icelandic geratritians are specialists in Internal Medicine with Geratrics as a subspeciality but the speciality of geriatrics is recognized as an independent speciality.
The majority of specialist physicians in Iceland have had their postgraduate training abroad, either in Europe or North America, the Icelandic health authorities accepting specialist degrees from recognized training programs following the standards of each country.
A curriculum in geriatric medicine is integrated in undergraduate medical training in Iceland and the opportunity exists to start formal specialist training at the University Hospital in Reykjavik. There is one University Hospital and one professorate in geriatrics.
Research
An example of cutting edge geriatric research in Iceland is the AGES-Reykjavik study, which is conducted by the Icelandic Heart Association and funded by the National Institute of Aging (USA). This is one of the largest and most comprehensive cohort studies on aging in the world. Its main focus are the interactions between age, genes and the environment and how they are reflected in disability in old age or through common age associated diseases such as cardiovascular disease, dementia and osteoporosis. Icelandic geriatricians are also involved in various other local and international research projects.
Journal
The Icelandic Medical Journal is the official journal of the Icelandic Medical Society of which the IGS is a member.
Scientific Meetings and educational activities
The Icelandic Medicine Society organizes an annual, CME recognized, meeting of which geriatriciants have taken active part in organizing and presentations.
The IGS has monthly member meetings and a full participation at the biannual Scandinavian-NGF congresses which was held in Reykjavik-Iceland in 2000 and 2010 and next 2020
There is by law a mandatory duty of continuing medical education among Icelandic medical doctors with opportunities of parttaking in relevant international conferences.
Contact
Anna Björg Jónsdóttir, FRCP (UK)
Consultant Geriatrician
Department of Geriatric Medicine
The National University Hospital of Iceland
Landakoti, 101, Reykjavík,
Iceland
GSM: 825 3831 /Tel: +354 825 3831,
Tölvupóstur: annabjon@landspitali.is / email: annabjon@landspitali.is
Website: the offical website of the Icelandic Medicine Society below.
www.lis.is
Description of an important achievement of Geriatric Medicine:
Organizing dementia diagnostics and care
Establishing rehabilitation, postacute and acute care within the Univesity Hospital
Implementing a geriatric team within the acute care environment
Developing ambulatory multidisciplinary workup and day care hospital within the University hospital
Implementing the RAI (Resident Assessment Instrument) instrument for regular evaluation of nursing home and home care patients in Iceland.
The implementing the LCP (Liverpool care pathway) to promote standard of pallitive care
President: Anna Björg Jónsdóttir
Secretary: Helga Hansdóttir
Treasurer: Hildur Þórarinsdóttir
The Icelandic Geriatric Medicine Society (Félag íslenskra öldrunarlækna-FÍÖ/IGS) was founded in 1989. It has a close collaboration with the Icelandic Gerontological Society which was founded in 1978. Members of the IGS were 32 in the beginning of 2023. Members include specialists in Geriatrics, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and General Practitioners.
The IGS has a representative on the editorial board of ÖLDRUN which is a journal published by the Icelandic Gerontological Society.
Organization of the health care system
Overview of geriatric services: Iceland has a total population of just over 300,000 thousand people and two-thirds live in the Reykjavik. In spite of record breaking increase in life expectancy at birth (men >79, and women >83 years), the proportion of those aged 70 and older is less than 10% of the population due to high fertility rates.
Approximately 85% of the health care is publicly funded.
There are both both acute and postacute care departments run by geriatric specialists in Iceland. There is an ambulatory service for evaluation and followup of geriatric patients and a specialized memory clinic for diagnosis, treatment and followup of dementia. Geriatricians in collaboration with general practitioners also service selected nursing homes.
Training in Geriatric Medicine
Interest among physicians in formal geriatric training has been growing during the past decade and there are currently 17 doctors with specialist training in geriatric medicine held appointments at academic hospitals in the year 2013. Majority of Icelandic geratritians are specialists in Internal Medicine with Geratrics as a subspeciality but the speciality of geriatrics is recognized as an independent speciality.
The majority of specialist physicians in Iceland have had their postgraduate training abroad, either in Europe or North America, the Icelandic health authorities accepting specialist degrees from recognized training programs following the standards of each country.
A curriculum in geriatric medicine is integrated in undergraduate medical training in Iceland and the opportunity exists to start formal specialist training at the University Hospital in Reykjavik. There is one University Hospital and one professorate in geriatrics.
Research
An example of cutting edge geriatric research in Iceland is the AGES-Reykjavik study, which is conducted by the Icelandic Heart Association and funded by the National Institute of Aging (USA). This is one of the largest and most comprehensive cohort studies on aging in the world. Its main focus are the interactions between age, genes and the environment and how they are reflected in disability in old age or through common age associated diseases such as cardiovascular disease, dementia and osteoporosis. Icelandic geriatricians are also involved in various other local and international research projects.
Journal
The Icelandic Medical Journal is the official journal of the Icelandic Medical Society of which the IGS is a member.
Scientific Meetings and educational activities
The Icelandic Medicine Society organizes an annual, CME recognized, meeting of which geriatriciants have taken active part in organizing and presentations.
The IGS has monthly member meetings and a full participation at the biannual Scandinavian-NGF congresses which was held in Reykjavik-Iceland in 2000 and 2010 and next 2020
There is by law a mandatory duty of continuing medical education among Icelandic medical doctors with opportunities of parttaking in relevant international conferences.
Contact
Anna Björg Jónsdóttir, FRCP (UK)
Consultant Geriatrician
Department of Geriatric Medicine
The National University Hospital of Iceland
Landakoti, 101, Reykjavík,
Iceland
GSM: 825 3831 /Tel: +354 825 3831,
Tölvupóstur: annabjon@landspitali.is / email: annabjon@landspitali.is
Website: the offical website of the Icelandic Medicine Society below.
www.lis.is
Description of an important achievement of Geriatric Medicine:
Organizing dementia diagnostics and care
Establishing rehabilitation, postacute and acute care within the Univesity Hospital
Implementing a geriatric team within the acute care environment
Developing ambulatory multidisciplinary workup and day care hospital within the University hospital
Implementing the RAI (Resident Assessment Instrument) instrument for regular evaluation of nursing home and home care patients in Iceland.
The implementing the LCP (Liverpool care pathway) to promote standard of pallitive care
