Four in 10 older adults burdened by demands of health-care system

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/jhub-fit101315.php

Public Release: 13-Oct-2015
Four in 10 older adults burdened by demands of health-care system
Study finds many delay or avoid treatments, feel managing medical needs too difficult
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Nearly four in ten older adults say that managing their health care needs is difficult for them or their families, that medical appointments or tests get delayed or don't get done, or that all of the requirements of their health care are too much to handle, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

The findings are published in the October issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

"Medical providers must be aware that when they ask older adults to take a new medication or suggest they see another doctor that this is happening in a broader context of treatment," says study author Jennifer L. Wolff, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School. "High quality care is not only about a single disease or visit, but rather the overall treatment plan across multiple providers. If we look at each visit in a vacuum, the health of these older adults could really suffer."

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