Monday, May 29, 2006
The elderly represent one of every three hospitalized persons in the United States and as groups are five times additional likely to die during their stay than younger patients, a federal study has found.
Experts say the review by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows the require for medical professionals to boost their focus on caring for people 60 and older, with an emphasis on disease prevention
They believe scheming illness and medical costs is very important because the nation's elderly would exceed 65 million by the year 2030 -- twice the number in 2000, according to the American Geriatric Society.
The study, conducted during the federal Department of Health and Human Services, shows the old made up 34.6 percent of those hospitalized in 2003, even though they represented just 11 percent of the population. And elder hospitalizations resulted in 43.7 percent of the nation's hospital bills, totaling nearly $328 billion.
"More and more people are reaching old age in a relatively functional way and coming into contact with the health care system like never before," said Ronnie Ann Rosenthal, an associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine, who is a surgeon. "What we need to do is to increase geriatric expertise for all specialties."
The geriatric society's "Geriatrics for Specialists" project, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, wants to get better training in elder care.
"Aging can complicate surgical care in many ways, and special training in the needs of geriatric patients can have a significant effect on patient outcomes," said Joseph LoCicero, an attending physician at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center in Mobile, Ala., who chairs the society's Section of Surgical and Related Medical Specialists.
In New Jersey, the number of hospitalized patients over age 60 also has grown. The elderly accounted for approximately 32 percent of hospitalizations in New Jersey last year, up from approximately 29 percent five years earlier, according to state health section figures.
"We give in to the myths of society regarding ageism. The myths are that people who are aged are frail, prone to illness," she said. "There's not that emphasis on prevention. We expect that diseases are going to occur."
posted by kanth
@ 2:03 AM
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