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Kaiser Health News
Large numbers of seniors aren’t receiving recommended interventions that could help forestall medical problems and improve their health, according to a new survey from the John A. Hartford Foundation.
Notably, one-third of older adults said doctors didn’t review all their medications, even though problems with prescription and over-the-counter drugs are common among the elderly, leading to over 177,000 emergency room visits every year.
Falls cause over 2 million injuries in people age 65 and older annually, but more than two-thirds of the time doctors and nurses didn’t ask older patients whether they’d taken a tumble or provide advice about how to avoid tripping on carpets or slipping on the stairs, the Hartford poll found.
Similarly, depression can cause people to become socially isolated, suicidal, or stop taking care of themselves, but 62 percent of seniors said doctors and nurses hadn’t inquired about whether they were sad, depressed or anxious.
The results, which cover a period of 12 months, speak to doctors’ and nurses’ lack of training in geriatric medicine. Providers need to recognize that “care of an 80 year old differs from that of a 50 year old,” said Dr. Rosanne Leipzig, professor of geriatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. But too often, this doesn’t happen.
Seven interventions examined in the Hartford study are part of Medicare’s annual wellness visit, which became a no-cost benefit available to all seniors in the government health program in January 2011. Yet 54 percent of older people surveyed by the foundation had never heard of the Medicare wellness visit while another 14 percent weren’t sure if they had.
Only 2.3 million seniors out of a total 35 million with traditional Medicare coverage took advantage of wellness visits last year, according to government data. Medicare pays doctors about three times their ordinary office visit rate for asking about older adults’ ability to function, evaluating their mood, recommending preventive services, and connecting them with community resources during wellness visits.
“These are low tech, low cost interventions that are easy to do and that can have a huge impact on an older person’s medical care and their quality of life and function. But too many providers and older adults don’t realize they’re important,” said Dr. Sharon Brangman, chairwoman of the board of directors of the American Geriatrics Society and professor of medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Christopher Langston, program director at the Hartford Foundation, said older adults should schedule a Medicare wellness visit and talk to their doctors about recommended preventive care. The Rand Corp. has found that only 30 percent of older adults get care supported by medical evidence, compared to 55 percent of the general population, he noted.
Still, despite gaps in care uncovered, 97 percent of respondents reported being satisfied with their primary care providers.
The mission of the Hartford Foundation is to improve the health of older adults. Its survey, released Tuesday, asked 1,028 people age 65 and older between February 29 and March 3 about their experiences with care. The study was conducted online by Lake Research Partners and had a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
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My husband is retired and has a Medicare Advantage Plan. The care is good and his primary care doctor is awesome. She follows every step of his care and gives as much time as we need to fully discuss whatever is going on.
My best advice for seniors is, if possible, take someone with you to the doctor. A spouse, son or daughter, or a friend. I always go with him because he can not remember accurately what the doctor tells him to do. This has nothing to do with age, he's always relied on me to take care of him. :):)
Also, check all medications prescribed for possible side effects. Be vigilant for any adverse side effects and call your doctor as soon as possible. My husband was having increased inability to walk and maintain his balance. I remembered that this was one of the possible side effects of one of his cholesterol medications. I stopped giving him the medicine and he immediately improved. His doctor then changed his prescription.
Senior citizens do have health problems that perhaps needed to be looked into but ignored by doctors. This can lead to many seniors not bothering to see a doctor. Failing health that leads to mental problems is a very common problem. Having a society that has no respect for seniors doesn't help and can lead seniors to just give up on life and wanting to die to get away from all the pain and hardship. These seniors can also remember when a doctors office visit was five dollars and the doctor would take the time to listen to his or her and then suggest the best way to resolve a health problem. Todays doctors want to specialize in one area of health and ignore other problems that may be of concern. Todays health care system is more about making money then a persons well being. In a country of over three hundred million people it seems the value of life has dropped to nearly zero. A few million people needlessly dying is no big deal.
One aditional comment for the senior citizens on this posting. You are walking encyclopedias. Pass on the decades of valuable knowledge to the young pups that run this country today. Often I see on the news "amazing new search results" about various things including health care. Except these results were known by seniors decades ago! Knowledge and Wisdom does come with age! Pass it on.
The most important conclusion we can draw from this article is this:
As people get older they may need help coping with day-to-day things we all take for granted. Loneliness is the most prevailing problem older people face. Everything has become so fast-paced that we forget to pause and look out for those who may need us. If nothing else, karma can kick your butt!
Funny thing, but it seems if you live a long and healthy life, and avoid coronary artery disease, diabetes, and cancer, then Alzheimer's will get you in the end. Having witnessed what it will do to you, if I ever get the suspicion that I am beginning to get the early symptoms of it, I think I will find a nice stretch of high-speed freight train tracks and stop the progress of it completely.
Many seniors are thinking what you have put into words. But a senior thinking about death and telling their plans to family or friends is a complete no-no. To be up in age and failing health destroying a persons life doesn't make for a decent life. Yet younger people seem to fail to notice. Go on living regardless of how sickly you are seems to be the way society want seniors to live. Recently a man was arrested for manslaughter for allowing his mother to die from stavation in her home. The claim being that he should have found medical care for her. She was a senior citizen and I honestly believe that is what she wanted instead of being kept alive by medical care in some senior center and needlessly extended her life for a short period of time. Her son pleaded guilty to the charges and what the final outcome for him remains to be seen. His mother can't come back and explain that she wanted to die at home not some strange place. A senior can't say they are planning their own death to anyone and this can be the results.