Healthcare Considerations for Elderly Patients

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Should health care be provided to the elderly?

The emphasis in providing health care to the elderly should be on maintaining functional capabilities. Most older citizens live in the community and are intellectually intact and fully independent in their daily activities.

What is a typical older person?

There is no typical older person. Some 80-year-olds have physical and mental capacities similar to many 30-year-olds. Other people experience significant declines in capacities at much younger ages. A comprehensive public health response must address this wide range of older people’s experiences and needs.

Why do older patients use hospitals more than younger patients?

Older patients use hospitals more than younger patients; they have more admissions to the hospital from the emergency department and more and longer hospital stays, and they use more resources while in the hospital.

How do older people access health services?

Health services include those provided by medical practitioners, specialists and other health professionals in hospitals and clinics. Older people’s access to these services may vary according to where they live, their access to transport, their health and cultural background, as well as socioeconomic factors (AIHW 2020e; van Gaans and Dent 2018).

Are older people a major user of hospital services?

As the population ages, older people are becoming the major user of hospital services. Older people who present to hospital have a significantly higher risk of experiencing functional decline. Older people have diverse care needs.

What is a health assessment of an older person?

A health assessment of an older person is an in-depth assessment of a patient aged 75 years and over. It provides a structured way of identifying health issues and conditions that are potentially preventable or amenable to interventions in order to improve health and/or quality of life.

What Is Elderly Patients

1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health
2. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/falls
3. https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/geriatrics/approach-to-the-geriatric-patient/introduction-to-geriatrics
4. https://www.health.vic.gov.au/patient-care/older-people-in-hospital
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK709/
6. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/aging/art-20046070
7. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/geriatrics/providing-care-to-older-adults/hospital-care-and-older-adults

Elderly Patients Information

1. https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/
2. https://www.health.gov.au/topics/aged-care
3. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/caring-for-older-australians?context=60056
4. https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mbsprimarycare_mbsitem_75andolder
5. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/older-people/older-australians/contents/health/health-care-gps-specialists