Health Care Policy and the Elderly: Toward a System of Long-Term Care

Geriatric teams have emerged as an accepted method of health care delivery to the elderly patient in ambulatory and acute inpatient settings. As one model of specialized health care teams, geriatric teams vary in structure, membership, and type. The purposes may be diverse, ranging from providing primary care to multidimensional functional and diagnostic assessment. Geriatric teams have convincingly demonstrated benefit to the care of the elderly. Overcoming significant barriers to their formation, geriatric teams are beginning to develop in long-term care facilities as a result of economic and educational pressures. However, the unique environment and needs of the long-term care facility have resulted in differences in leadership, membership, and structure of long-term care teams. Pharmacist involvement in the long-term care geriatric team could benefit the facility, patient care, and the profession. The key to future involvement by pharmacists in teams appears to depend on their interest, ability to acquire necessary skills, and demonstration of unique professional contributions.

Download Full-text

Health Insurance Systems as Models for Managing the Increasing Elderly Populations of Japan and Korea

Intelligent Technologies for Bridging the Grey Digital Divide ◽

10.4018/978-1-61520-825-8.ch018 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 282-294

Author(s):

Seungwon Jeong ◽

Yusuke Inoue

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Social Services ◽

Long Term Care ◽

The Elderly ◽

Term Care ◽

Medical Facilities ◽

Before And After ◽

Long Term Care Insurance ◽

The Republic

This chapter looks into the systems and institutions for the elderly population covered by long-term care insurance in Japan and the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea). It shall discuss the historical changes in policies in these two nations. The Health Care and Welfare Complex elements that make up a single business model for the Health Care and Social Services of the aged in Japan and Korea will also be discussed in this paper. The management environment for medical facilities greatly changed with adjustments in the population structure and the social environment, and this resulted in serious competition between medical facilities for patients. Medical facilities in Japan and Korea showed a rapid increase in comprehensive medical and welfare management. Consequently, there were provisions in both health care and social services through affiliation, chain affiliation and multiplication, before and after the enforcement of long-term care insurance.

Download Full-text

The Graying of America: Implications for Health Professionals

Care Management Journals ◽

10.1891/cmaj.6.4.178 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 178-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

James D. Wright

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care System ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Elderly Population ◽

Long Term Care ◽

The Elderly ◽

Term Care ◽

Demographic Projections ◽

Care Industry

Demographic projections confirm a dramatic increase in the size of America’s elderly population over the next several decades. The elderly now comprise 13% of the population; by 2045, they will comprise 22%. As the elderly population grows, so too will the elderly poor, the elderly homeless, and the elderly uninsured. The implications of the so-called graying of America for the health care system, particularly the long-term care industry, are staggering.

Download Full-text