If you’re 65 or older, you may be in for a tough time finding a doctor who specializes in caring for older people, according a new report in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.
With the proportion of older adults projected to rise to 20 percent by 2030, there will be 70 million people 65 and older and 10 million 85 and older, according to the report published this month. A variety of healthcare providers are going to be needed to work in teams coordinated by doctors, the report says.
"There are not going to be enough geriatricians," physician Gregg Warshaw, an author of the report and chair of the division of geriatrics at the University of Cincinnati, tells USA Today. Today, "80 percent of pediatric patients see pediatricians, while 80 percent of geriatric patients see primary care doctors or internists."
Between 2004 and 2008, fewer than 320 physicians entered geriatrics training programs, the report said, far from the 36,000 additional geriatric specialists previous reports estimated would be needed by 2030.
A 2008 report in the American Journal of Medicine cited a number of reasons for the lack of physicians entering the geriatrics field, including low reimbursement rate for services; not enough mentors and research and academic opportunities; and lower professional recognition and value. Despite this geriatric specialists report the highest level of job satisfaction among all specialties, the report said.
In the more recent report in the geriatrics journal, the authors say healthcare policymakers must change the payment system so that social workers and nurses, who form part of a geriatrics care team, are rewarded as well as physicians in an effort to expand on the success such care groups have had. Training in elderly care must also be improved, they said.
© 2011 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
