Medical News, Patient Care: Few Geriatricians in Training as a Large Generation of Americans Age

The National Academies Press has published a new report this month entitled “Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce” which apprises the healthcare professions’ capacity for taking care of a burgeoning population of Americans aging 65 years and over. The press release can be read here.

The full text of the 312-page report is available for reading online at no cost from this link at Institute of Medicine.

Following are a few excerpts taken from this Apr 14 2008 report:

” The number of older adults in the United States will nearly double between 2005 and 2030 as the 78-million member baby boom generation begins turning 65 in 2011 and as life expectancy for older Americans increases.”

” While a large portion of this group will maintain health and independent functioning well past the age of 65, overall they will contribute to the challenges faced by a heavily burdened Medicare program.”

” More than three-quarters of adults over age 65 suffer from at least one chronic medical condition that requires ongoing care and management.”

” The committee [which wrote the report] * set a target date of 2030 — the year by which all baby boomers will have turned 65 or older — for the necessary reforms to take place.”

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This report is a must-read for academic and hospital administrators, clinicians, residents, medical students and any teaching staff who are involved in graduate medical education.

Where do you think American health care will be in 2030 ?

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* Editorial Note: Columbia University professor Dr. John W. Rowe, who served as the Chair of the Institute of Medicine Committee on the Future Health Care Workforce for Older Americans, is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the University of Connecticut.