Zogby Poll: As Boomers Retire, Crisis Looms in Specialized Medical Care |
New Survey from American System for Advancing Senior Health (ASASH(TM))
Shows Knowledge is (Healing) Power in the Hands of Older Patients
UTICA, N.Y., May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- With millions of "Baby Boomers"
across America preparing for retirement, the first annual Senior Health
Index by ASASH(TM) (American System for Advancing Senior Health) conducted
by Zogby International polling shows seven out of eight Boomers believe it
is important that their physician has specialized training in dealing with
older patients, but a majority of them say they cannot find such a doctor.
Nearly nine in 10 women (88%) said it was important to have a physician
with senior care expertise, and the data suggests that seniors are less
confident they are receiving appropriate care when they don't know if their
doctors have such training. Indeed, 26% -- one in four women -- said they
believe that their health may have suffered because their physician did not
have such expertise.
The comprehensive nationwide survey of adults aged 55 and older showed
that there is concern about the senior health training received by their
medical providers because they believe their health needs are significantly
different than those of younger patients. Nearly half -- 45% -- said they
are likely to seek a different healthcare provider in order to obtain
better results, and 45% said they believe it is possible to obtain better
care than they are now receiving.
This as the medical field faces a severe crisis in dealing with older
patients. An April 2008 report from the Institute of Medicine ("Retooling
for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce") shows that there
are not enough specialists in geriatric medicine, that training of the
nation's medical providers to care for America's growing senior health
population is insufficient, that specialists working in the field are
underpaid and that the government's Medicare program fails to provide for
team care that many elderly patients need.
"The Senior Health Index by ASASH shows that more than 50% of consumers
aged 55 and older feel that they are the ones most able to improve the
quality of 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 the Institute of Medicine study revealed. The goal of ASASH is
to improve outcomes for seniors by providing consumers and their healthcare
professionals with accurate, actionable health information, services and
tools."
"We are seeing the Baby Boomers use the Internet to take a much more
activist role in almost every aspect of their lives," said Pollster John
Zogby. "We have had a dramatic increase in their participation in online
polling, for instance, and they tell us that the Internet is playing an
important role in getting the latest information about everything from
healthcare to politics to travel, leisure, money management, and just about
every other subject."
According to the Senior Health Index by ASASH, one in every three
respondents 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 of their healthcare decisions, and half said they believe they
themselves are in the best position to help improve the quality of their
health.
89% said that if they could find a credible source of information about
their health and healthcare - specifically tailored to seniors - they would
access it. Large majorities said they believe such information would help
them better communicate with their physicians, follow treatment guidelines
with confidence, use the overall healthcare system more effectively, lead a
more healthy life in general, and do so while living at their own home. A
large majority said they also believe such an information source would give
them the confidence to talk to their healthcare provider with confidence
about new treatment options that might be available for them.
The Institute of Medicine study also showed that quality care for older
Americans may also be difficult to obtain because of Medicare's low
reimbursement rates to providers and because of the program's emphasis on
treating short-term health problems rather than managing chronic conditions
and encouraging preventive measures to keep health problems at bay.
According to the Senior Health Index by ASASH, more than half of the
respondents aged 55 to 64 -- 53% -- said they believe the country at large
does not understand or care about the health challenges senior citizens
face. Among those aged 65 and older, 40% said the same.
The pair of Zogby interactive online surveys was conducted for ASASH
March 14-17, 2008. The survey of 3,110 adults included 610 respondents aged
55-64 and 2,500 respondents aged 65 and older. The survey of respondents
aged 55-64 carries a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points. The
survey of adults aged 65 and older carries a margin of error of +/- 2.0
percentage points.
About ASASH
The American System for Advancing Senior Health (ASASH(TM))
(http://www.asash.net) empowers seniors to live healthier, more fulfilling lives
by providing them with credible health information and services across a
variety of formats. Backed by senior health experts from a range of
backgrounds, ASASH is designed to help the 66 million Americans in the
55-and-older demographic and their healthcare professionals confidently
navigate the complexity of the senior healthcare system. As a result, ASASH
provides seniors and their healthcare professionals with accurate and
actionable health information under the brand name "NueLife" (in Greek
numerals, "Nu" = 50 and "E" = 5). NueLife initiatives will include NueLife
Journal for consumers, NueLife.com for seniors, NueLifePro.com for senior
health professionals, and the annual Advancing Senior Health Conference(TM)
for health plan providers and senior health professionals. The System also
includes the professional journals Assisted Living Consult and Medicare
Patient Management and community-based educational seminars for consumers,
known as "NueLife On Location," which are currently being developed.
Contacts:
Fritz Wenzel, Zobgy International
315-624-0200, ext.229, fritz@zogby.com
Jeff Vaughan, ASASH
610-533-4264, jv@voncom.com
SOURCE The American System for Advancing Senior Health
back to topRelated links:
CONTACT:
Fritz Wenzel, Zobgy International,
+1-315-624-0200, ext.229, fritz@zogby.com; or Jeff Vaughan,
ASASH, +1-610-533-4264, jv@voncom.com
