The article presents the results of comprehensive study of assessing characteristics of organization of medical care of elder age groups of rural population with purpose to substantiate the necessary elements of diagnostic and treatment process under key comorbid pathology. The set of systemic causes conditioning defects of quality of medical care support in rural medical organizations is identified. The structure of comorbid pathology in patients of elder age groups was studied. The cause-effect relationships between various forms of chronic diseases are established. The analysis of medical documentation of patients of the older age groups resulted in structuring of 77 different forms of senile pathology: 23 forms of geriatric diseases and 54 forms of geriatric syndromes. The established cause-effect relationships were classified as afferent (disease positions as causal factor) and efferent ones (disease is consequence of other pathology). All forms of geriatric pathology, for which statistically significant comorbid associations with other diseases were established, are unified into group of key comorbid pathology. On the basis of established specificity of afferent and efferent comorbid relationships, the necessary elements of treatment and diagnostic process for each of the forms of key comorbid pathology are developed.

comorbidity, comorbid pathology, geriatric diseases, rural population, elder age groups, treatment and diagnostic process, rural medical organizations, quality of medical care.