Treating chronic conditions can be difficult for a variety
of reasons, from an inability or unwillingness to follow a
treatment plan, to poor cooperation due to socioeconomic
or even transportation issues and coordination among
healthcare providers focused on a single healthcare
challenge. And with each passing day, this population’s
conditions often worsen, requiring even more expensive,
back-end care.
Demographic Urgency: Growing Senior Population
Provides Impetus for Quick Action
From a healthcare stance, reducing illness and lowering
costs for chronic health populations is an understandable
goal. From an operational perspective, it’s one with an
urgent timeline due to the U.S.’s growing older population.
In addition to sheer numbers, the trend of more seniors
who are aging in place to remain in their homes vs. moving
into a care facility where conditions could be monitored
more effectively, means population health management
will become even more crucial in both rural and urban
communities in the coming years.
The numbers speak volumes: 80 percent of older adults
have at least one chronic health condition, and 77 percent
clock in with at least two, according to the National Council
on Aging, which also reports that diabetes affects 12.2
million Americans over the age of 60, or 23 percent of
the senior population.
More alarming, 90 percent of Americans age 55+ are at
risk for hypertension, or high blood pressure. In addition,
50 percent of women over 60, 77 percent of women
over 75, and 64 percent of men over 75 actually have
the condition (NCOA, n.d.).
For many seniors, the completion of daily tasks is a significant
challenge, much less adhering to a complicated medication
and treatment regimen. The hope is that seniors, along
with a younger and often equally non-compliant population,
will benefit from population management strategies that
focus on not just managing chronic conditions but also
reducing their severity, and early detection and prevention.
And these conditions are lethal. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic diseases
account for seven of the top 10 causes of death in the
United States and are consuming 86 percent of its annual
healthcare spending. (Kent, 2018)
About Chronic Medical Conditions
There are many medical conditions deemed as chronic. In
terms of population health management today, there are a
handful that have become most prevalent in discussions
around ongoing care, due to their treatment complexity
and rising number of patients:
• Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Cancer
• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Chronic Urinary Tract Infections
• COPD
• Crohn’s Disease
• Depression & Suicide in Oder Adults
• Diabetes
• Dysrhythmia
• Epilepsy
• High Blood Pressure/High Cholesterol
• Ischemic Heart Disease
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Osteoporosis
• Parkinson’s
• Stroke
• Ulcerative Colitis
Each on its own poses a thorny problem for care providers,
but often a patient may present with one or more conditions
concurrently, creating an even more complex case.
80 PERCENT of older adults have
at least one chronic health
condition, and 77 percent
clock in with at least two,
according to the National
Council on Aging.
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