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Older Americans Visiting Doctors More Often
A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
published in Reuters Health July 17, 2001, reported that older Americans
are visiting their doctors 22% more often than they did in the mid-1980s,
and doctors are prescribing more drugs. According to the CDC's
survey of physicians, office visits increased 19% between 1985 and 1999.
Americans aged 65 and older increased their rate of doctor visits to about
six times per year.
Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, director of the CDC, stated, "The
aging of our population has had a major impact on ambulatory medical care
in this country. As the oldest patients make up a larger proportion
of the patients seen in a doctor's office, the doctor must be prepared to
meet their unique needs, including monitoring multiple prescriptions and
providing the best advice for promoting a healthy life and preventing
disease and disability."
Unfortunately, elderly patients are more likely to be heavily medicated
than the rest of the population. According to Medscape
Pharmacotherapy, 2000, there are an alarming number of cases of elderly
overmedication, which can often lead to delirium and dementia. It
is estimated that medications contribute to 22% to 39% of all cases of
delirium. A recent study involving
older hospitalized adults found that the most likely primary cause of
delirium in their study population was medication use.
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