Future of Healthcare as it Relates to the Geriatric Population
Description and Problem Statement
The geriatric population in the United States is growing and compared to the population of health care providers the geriatric population growth is advancing much more rapidly. This presents a problem in making provision of health care to the future geriatric population. While there is a growth in the demand for geriatric health care services, there is not a matching growth in the population of health care providers and in fact, a shortage presently exists.
The population of geriatric patients is experiencing rapid growth while the population of health care providers specifically trained in geriatric medicine is seriously lagging behind. In fact, of the approximately 650,000 medical doctors who are practicing, only a small percentage receives the training and education required to provide geriatric care. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that only three medical schools in the United States out of the total of 145 medical schools have a geriatrics department that is of a full scale and that makes it mandatory that students and residents participate in a mandatory rotation. Unfortunately, only a mere three percent of medical students take a course in geriatrics while attaining their education.
Research Objective
The objective of the research proposed is to examine the issue of the future of health care for the geriatric population and the relevance that this holds for health care leaders and administrators in the acute care hospital environment.
Part II: Background of the Problem
Background
The first of the Baby Boomers recently turned the age of 65. This population of individuals is such that the present base of health care providers is not sufficient to meet the demand of this population for health care services. It is critical that a competent workforce that is committed be at focus for development within the health care profession in order to meet the demand for the provision of care in the future for the geriatric population. Not only is there a shortage of providers to meet the health care needs of the population of Baby Boomers reaching age 65 and older, the acute hospital environment is unprepared for the future rising demand in acute health care service needs. The following figure labeled Figure 1 in this study shows the hospital emergency department visits by race and age in the United States for the years 1992 through 2000. Clearly, those who are 65 years of age and older are the group with the highest percentage of hospital emergency department visits for that eight-year timeframe.
Figure 1
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2004)
This is particularly important for consideration in light of the knowledge that 35.6 per 100 deaths in a total of 2.4 million deaths occurring in 1999 in short-stay hospitals. Of these, it is reported that the transfers of the elderly from hospitals to nursing homes represents a great percentage of deaths. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004, paraphrased) Nursing home residents discharged from hospitals between 1985 to 1999 are shown in the following chart labeled Figure 2. It is clear from the information revealed in the chart that a large majority of individuals when discharged are admitted into nursing home facilities upon being discharged.
Figure 2
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2004)
Furthermore, as reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, those who are residents in nursing homes who are admitted to and discharged from hospitals are of advanced age with the majority of these individuals being in the age group 85 years of age or older, followed by those in the age group 74 to 84 years of age and then followed by the group age 65 years of age and older all of which is shown in the following chart labeled Figure 3 in this study.
Figure 3
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2004)
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