The AGS is committed to improving health, independence, and quality of life for us all as we age. That means helping healthcare professionals, policy makers, and the public embrace core components of high-quality, person-centered care. Learn more about where we stand on some of the field’s most important topics.
AGS Positions and Statements
- Access to Health Care Across the Lifespan
The AGS believes in a just society, one where we all are supported by and able to contribute to communities where ageism, ableism, classism, homophobia, racism, sexism, xenophobia, and other forms of bias and discrimination no longer impact healthcare access, quality, and outcomes for older adults and their caregivers. - LGBTQ+ Older Adults
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) stands against discrimination, harassment, prejudice, systemic injustice, and violence targeting any individual for their identity and has long called for healthcare policies that require equal treatment for LGBTQ+ individuals, regardless of age, and for recognition of the preferred name and gender identity of transgender individuals, regardless of legal or biological gender status. - Immunization in Older Adults
The AGS recommends that older adults follow immunization recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in order to reduce their risks from vaccine-preventable illness. - Discrimination
The AGS stands against discrimination, harassment, prejudice, systemic injustice, and violence targeting any individual because of who they are—including their age, ancestry, cultural background, disability, ethnic origin, gender, gender identity, immigration status, nationality, marital and/or familial status, primary language, race, religion, socioeconomic status, and/or sexual orientation. We believe that such discriminatory practices can have a negative impact on public health, especially the health of older Americans and vulnerable older people. - Resource Allocation Strategies and Age-Related Considerations in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond
This position statement defends a particular view of distributive justice that maximizes relevant clinical factors and de‐emphasizes or eliminates factors placing arbitrary, disproportionate weight on advanced age. The AGS positions include: (1) avoiding age per se as a means for excluding anyone from care; (2) assessing comorbidities and considering the disparate impact of social determinants of health; (3) encouraging decision-makers to focus primarily on potential short‐term (not long‐term) outcomes; (4) avoiding ancillary criteria such as “life‐years saved” and “long‐term predicted life expectancy” that might disadvantage older people; (5) forming and staffing triage committees tasked with allocating scarce resources; (6) developing institutional resource allocation strategies that are transparent and applied uniformly; and (7) facilitating appropriate advance care planning. - Achieving Gender Equity in Geriatrics
Supporting gender equity for women working in geriatrics is important to the growth of geriatrics across disciplines and is critical in achieving our vision for a future when we are all able to contribute to our communities and maintain our health, safety, and independence as we age. In this position article, we outline strategic objectives and accompanying practical recommendations for how geriatrics as a field can work together to achieve a future when the rights of women are guaranteed and women in geriatrics have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. - Advance Care Planning for Older Adults
This document outlines the AGS' position on the importance of advance care planning as a tool for helping individuals articulate and document their care values and preferences as they age, to ensure that the care they receive matches their wishes, particularly near the end of life. - Gun-related Injuries and Deaths in Older Adults
In this position statement, the AGS endorses the American College of Physicians' position statement on "Firearm-Related Injury and Death in the United States: A Call to Action from Over 50 Supporting Organizations and the American Bar Association." - Healthy Aging
“Healthy aging” sounds like a priority we all can share, but for geriatrics healthcare professionals that term represents something specific, and something worth defining. The AGS Clinical Practice and Models of Care Committee and Public Education Committee developed this white paper to explore how the term intersects with personal care goals and innovations in science, education and public policy. - Making Medical Treatment Decisions for “Unbefriended" Older Adults
This position statement, developed by the AGS Ethics Committee, outlines new guidance on care and decision-making for a unique and growing group of older adults: the “unbefriended.” - Defining and Achieving “Person-Centered Care”
An expert panel convened by the AGS in collaboration with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and with support from The SCAN Foundation released findings from a project defining “person-centered care” and its essential elements. - Achieving High-Quality Multicultural Geriatric Care
This position statement, developed by the AGS Ethnogeriatrics Committee, outlines healthcare disparities in the United States and the minimum quality indicators that healthcare organizations and healthcare providers should adopt. - Caring for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Older Adults
This position statement, developed by the AGS Ethics Committee, addresses the vision of the AGS for the care of LGBT older adults and specific steps that can be taken to ensure that they receive the care that they need. - Statement in Support of Voting Rights
The AGS supports fair and equitable access to the ballot box for all Americans. This position statement urges Congress to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4), which would help keep in place protections afforded to all older adults with functional impairments by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
For a full compendium of AGS clinical guidelines and recommendations, visit GeriatricsCareOnline.org.