TY - JOUR
T1 - The Looming Geriatrician Shortage
T2 - Ramifications and Solutions
AU - Lester, Paula E.
AU - Dharmarajan, T. S.
AU - Weinstein, Eleanor
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the members of the NYACP Geriatrics Task Force who contributed to the concepts expressed in this viewpoint: Leslie Algase, MD, FACP; Sharon Brangman, MD, FACP; Tina Dobsevage, MD, FACP; Daniel King, MD; John Maese, MD, MACP; Ida Messana, MD, FACP; Donna Seminara, MD, FACP; Anita Szerszen, MD, FACP; and Pooja P. Vyas, DO. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
PY - 2020/10
Y1 - 2020/10
N2 - Objective: Geriatricians are skilled in the recognition of asymptomatic and atypical presentations that occur in the elderly and provide comprehensive medication management including recognizing adverse drug events, reducing polypharmacy, and de-prescribing. However, despite the increasing average age of the U.S. population, with the number of individuals above 65 years old predicted to increase 55% by 2030, the geriatric workforce capacity in the United States has actually decreased from 10,270 in 2000 to 8,502 in 2010. Method: We describe physiologic changes in older adults, historical trends in geriatric training, and propose solutions for this looming crisis. Results: Many factors are responsible for the shortage of skilled geriatric providers. Discussion: We discuss the historical context of the lack of geriatricians including changes to the training system, describe the impact of expert geriatric care on patient care and health system outcomes, and propose methods to improve recruitment and retention for geriatric medicine.
AB - Objective: Geriatricians are skilled in the recognition of asymptomatic and atypical presentations that occur in the elderly and provide comprehensive medication management including recognizing adverse drug events, reducing polypharmacy, and de-prescribing. However, despite the increasing average age of the U.S. population, with the number of individuals above 65 years old predicted to increase 55% by 2030, the geriatric workforce capacity in the United States has actually decreased from 10,270 in 2000 to 8,502 in 2010. Method: We describe physiologic changes in older adults, historical trends in geriatric training, and propose solutions for this looming crisis. Results: Many factors are responsible for the shortage of skilled geriatric providers. Discussion: We discuss the historical context of the lack of geriatricians including changes to the training system, describe the impact of expert geriatric care on patient care and health system outcomes, and propose methods to improve recruitment and retention for geriatric medicine.
KW - geriatrics
KW - health services
KW - policy
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U2 - 10.1177/0898264319879325
DO - 10.1177/0898264319879325
M3 - Article
C2 - 31583940
AN - SCOPUS:85074022910
SN - 0898-2643
VL - 32
SP - 1052
EP - 1062
JO - Journal of Aging and Health
JF - Journal of Aging and Health
IS - 9
ER -