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Nearly nine in 10 women (88%) said it was important to have a physicianwith senior care expertise, and the data suggests that seniors are lessconfident they are receiving appropriate care when they don't know if theirdoctors have such training. Indeed, 26% -- one in four women -- said theybelieve that their health may have suffered because their physician did nothave such expertise.
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The comprehensive nationwide survey of adults aged 55 and older showedthat there is concern about the senior health training received by theirmedical providers because they believe their health needs are significantlydifferent than those of younger patients. Nearly half -- 45% -- said they arelikely to seek a different healthcare provider in order to obtain betterresults, and 45% said they believe it is possible to obtain better care thanthey are now receiving.
This as the medical field faces a severe crisis in dealing with olderpatients. An April 2008 report from the Institute of Medicine ("Retooling foran Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce") shows that there arenot enough specialists in geriatric medicine, that training of the nation'smedical providers to care for America's growing senior health population isinsufficient, that specialists working in the field are underpaid and that thegovernment's Medicare program fails to provide for team care that many elderlypatients need.
"The Senior Health Index by ASASH shows that more than 50% of consumersaged 55 and older feel that they are the ones most able to improve the qualityof their care beyond its current level," said David Dierk, president of ASASH."People are seeking ways to take action in light of the crisis that theInstitute of Medicine study revealed. The goal of ASASH is to improve outcomesfor seniors by providing consumers and their healthcare professionals withaccurate, actionable health information, services and tools."
"We are seeing the Baby Boomers use the Internet to take a much moreactivist role in almost every aspect of their lives," said Pollster JohnZogby. "We have had a dramatic increase in their participation in onlinepolling, for instance, and they tell us that the Internet is playing animportant role in getting the latest information about everything fromhealthcare to politics to travel, leisure, money management, and just aboutevery other subject."
According to the Senior Health Index by ASASH, one in every threerespondents said they need more help with their healthcare decisions, and 71%said they want to be able to find more information about their own healthcare.This may be in part because most people -- 88% -- want to be in control oftheir healthcare decisions, and half said they believe they themselves are inthe best position to help improve the quality of their health.
89% said that if they could find a credible source of information abouttheir health and healthcare - specifically tailored to seniors - they wouldaccess it. Large majorities said they believe such information would help thembetter communicate with their physicians, follow treatment guidelines withconfidence, use the overall healthcare system more effectively, lead a morehealthy life in general, and do so while living at their own home. A largemajority said they also believe such an information source would give them theconfidence to talk to their healthcare provider with confidence about newtreatment options that might be available for them.
The Institute
