Geriatric Medicine

- section of UEMS



Delegates:

Didier Schoevaerdts
didier.schoevaerdts@uclouvain.be

Johan Flamaing
johan.flamaing@uzleuven.be

------------------

Geriatrics in Belgium

Do geriatric co-management programs exist in non-geriatric units:
Yes (orthogeriatrics, cardiology, nephrology, oncology, emergency,...
Total population >65 Years old (in absolute numbers): :
2405315 in 2025
Population aged 65+ (or 60+) (in %):: :
20,30%
Population aged 75+ (in %)::
10,40%
Population aged 80+ (in %):  :
5,60%
Gender distribution in the older population (60+) :
55.1% of female and 44.9% of men
Most frequent Diagnosis-related groupsin older adults:
Chronic and age-related conditions. The leading diagnoses include high blood pressure (hypertension), osteoarthritis, high cholesterol (lipid metabolism disorders), and type 2 diabetes. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Mortality and morbidity information:
Because multimorbidity is extremely common in this demographic, older adults frequently live with three or more of these chronic conditions
National geriatrics society/association name:
Belgian Society for Geriatrics and Gerontology
Contact details (email, phone number) :
info@geriatrie.be
Website - URL :
https://geriatrie.be/fr/
Total number of certified geriatricians in the country :
337
Is Geriatrics a recognized specialty? (Yes/No) :
Yes
Duration of postgraduate training in geriatric medicine (years): :
6 years: 3 years internal medicine (different subspecialities) and 3 yearsgeriatric medicine
Criteria to be admitted in geriatric medicine residency training:
Completion of the 3 years of internal medicine with master of master degree of these 3 years.
Any ongoing programs to train more geriatricians? (Yes/No):
Yes
Criteria for a patient be treated by a geriatrician :
To be 75 yearsare older with a geriatric profile as defined in the national careprogramfor geriatric patients
Number of hospitals with dedicated geriatric units:
96
Kind of units present in hospitals involved in geriatric care:
acute geriatric unit,, geriatric day hospital, geriatric rehabilitation units, orthogeriatrics unit,
Do geriatric co-management programs exist in non-geriatric units:
Yes (orthogeriatrics, cardiology, nephrology, oncology, emergency,...
Major challenges :
Lack of medical, nursing and alliedHCW staff, lack of beds and lack of sufficient home service and LTC beds leading to discharge problems.
Initiatives or solutions being implemented to address these :
Are there regional disparities in geriatric care?:
Yes
Which regions have the best/worst access to geriatric services? :
Cities more than rural regions
Number of long-term care facilities:
1520 LTCF
Are there co-management programs in these:
Honoraria for evaluation of NH residents by a geriatrician on demand of GP were created in 2024. This leads to heterogeneous liaison in content and intensity. A national plan for scientific evaluation of these initiatives is warranted. from hospital
Name of Universities Offering Geriatric Medicine:
University of Gent, Antwerpen, Leuven, Brussel (UCL, ULB and VUB) , Liège
Geriatric medicine is part of undergraduate training?:
Is there a postgraduate curriculum specific to geriatrics?:
Yes
How many candidates are enrolled into geriatric:
36
Name of UEMS board membersandcontacts per country:
didier.schoevaerdts@uclouvain.be and johan.flamaing@kuleuven.be
Additional comments or important information
-----------------------------------------------------