AGS - News - AGS Press Release - Lack of Physicians to Care for Growing Senior Population Spurs Call for Redesign of Health Care System

For Immediate Release
May 12, 2005

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Lack of Physicians to Care for Growing Senior Population
Spurs Call for Redesign of Health Care System
American Geriatric Society Leading the Charge to Optimize Care of Older Americans

NEW YORK, May 12, 2005 -A proactive new study released today by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) concludes that the current shortage of geriatricians and health care professionals trained to care for older Americans could reach crisis proportions in the next 25 years as millions of Baby Boomers hit retirement age.

According to the report, Caring for Older Americans: The Future of Geriatric Medicine, by 2030, there will be only one geriatrician for every 7,665 older adults - unless major steps are taken to recruit and train geriatricians.

Thanks to the graying of the Baby Boom generation, the number of adults 65 and older will double over the next 25 years, topping 71.5 million. But despite growing demand, a declining number of medical students are currently choosing to specialize in geriatrics (current Medicare reimbursement policies are one, but not the only, disincentive).

A key component of geriatric medicine is the management of chronic conditions, often multiple and usually incurable, in a variety of settings, including home, nursing homes, and community-based long-term care sites.

"We coordinate care with other professions and across community-based settings to ensure that patients' needs, as well as those of patients' caregivers, are met," explains David B. Reuben, M.D., President of the Society. "Geriatricians take care of people, not just their diseases."

The report - the work of an AGS task force that included more than two dozen leading geriatrics practitioners, researchers, and academics - also documents the need for a greater commitment to geriatrics research. Only 62 physician-fellows were in their second or subsequent years of training in geriatric research - nationwide - in 2003. And funding for research on aging has been inadequate.

In The Future of Geriatric Medicine, the AGS identifies current obstacles for geriatricians and caregivers, and outlines strategies to overcome them, making recommendations to optimize the health of older persons over the coming decades. These include the following:

Ensure that every older person receives high-quality, patient-centered health care;
Teach health care professionals in other fields how to better meet the unique health care needs of older adults so they can employ the principles of geriatric medicine in caring for older persons;
Recruit physicians and other health care professionals into careers in geriatric medicine;
Unite professional and lay groups in the effort to influence public policy, including Medicare policy, to continually improve the health and health care of seniors.

"In the coming years, geriatricians will be key leaders of change to achieve the goals of improving and maintaining a healthy senior population," says Meghan Gerety, M.D., chair of the board of the American Geriatrics Society. "Geriatricians understand the need to work collaboratively with other professional disciplines to improve the health, functioning, and well-being of older persons and to help them maintain an independent lifestyle. As this report attests, AGS members are working to implement change and incentives to attract more physicians to this field to ensure that we can provide appropriate care for the rapidly growing aging population."

These goals, are ambitious but can be accomplished if geriatricians are able to productively partner with other physicians, health care professionals, consumer groups, and lawmakers, Dr. Reuben adds.

"The agenda is broad, the need is dire and the obstacles are immense," he continues.. "Yet if our society is to meet the health care needs of older persons, we must face these challenges and succeed. Our nation's older people deserve nothing less."

About AGS
Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (http://www.americangeriatrics.org) is a nationwide, not-for-profit association of geriatrics health care professionals dedicated to improving the health, independence and quality of life of all older people. The Society supports this mission through activities in clinical practice, professional and public education, research and public policy. With an active membership of over 6,700 health care professionals, the Society has become a pivotal force in shaping attitudes, policies and practices in geriatric medicine. The American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting, the premier scientific meeting for geriatrics health care providers, educators, and researchers, began May 11 and runs through May 15.