GRO 325 Aging & Health Wk5-1

 Access to Health Care and Long-Term Services    

As we discussed in Week One, our society is becoming much older and  much more culturally diverse. With the older adult population growing so  drastically, the medical community is beginning to feel the impact. As  to be expected, older adults are the highest users of physician  services, prescription medication, hospital services, and long-term care  facilities. Given this information on the problems and prospects of  medical care in this community, analyze the following:

• The systematic and/or social inequities that exist with respect to  care for older adults, and alternatively, how  the medical community can  become better equipped to care for elderly patients in 21st century  medicine.  
• What the future holds for the medical care in elderly communities.
• The direction we are headed with reference to long-term care and  whether this direction is a positive or negative focus for the future of  elder care