Geriatrician Shortage
How do you start a Geriatrician Shortage research paper? Our expert writers suggest like this:
Recent reports on the solvency of Medicare have shown that the elderly population aged 85 and older is the fastest growing segment in the American demographic. According to an author, "By 2030, it is projected that one out of every five Americans will be over age 65. People age 85 and older are the fastest growing segment of the entire population, with expected growth from 4 million people today to 19 million by 2050". Given the tremendous number of individuals that will soon be part of this growing population, there is an impetus to train and certify more geriatricians to meet the medical needs of this population.
Because the study of geriatrics has only recently come to the forefront of research and inquiry, the number of individuals trained to handle the needs of this specific population is significantly smaller than what is seen in other fields of study. Cefalu supports this assertion by noting, "Of the approximately 98,000 medical residency and fellowship positions supported by Medicare in 1998, only 324 were in geriatric medicine and geriatric psychiatry". As the number of individuals over 65 rises each year, the medical community has a responsibility to train enough geriatricians to keep pace with the grown. If this objective is not met, experts have noted that there will be significant stress placed on the current medical system and treatment of the aged will lag behind other areas of medical care.
Attempting to delineate the why the number of geriatricians certified each year continues to decline rather than grow, several authors have noted the following:
- The expanding cost to care for the geriatric population
- Medicare's inability (or unwillingness) to pay for certain diagnostic tests and procedures
- Financial draining for most physicians
Summarizing this dilemma, Cefalu argues, "In short, because of the complexity of care needed and the time required to deliver quality care, Medicare currently provides a disincentive for physicians to care for Medicare beneficiaries who are frail and chronically ill."