Before we can look at where health care is headed, we need to know, what's driving the change? I have identified ten key markers for change: Aging, Chronic Disease, Consumerism, Payment/Financial Trends, Religious Identity, Physician Dynamics, Rural Challenges, Talent, Treatment and Technology, and finally Health Care Reform. Let's look at each one of these factors.
Aging: The number of people over 65 will rise substantially beginning in 2011 as the oldest members of the baby boom generation reach the 65 year mark (I'm one of them). In the United States today, one in eight Americans is 65 or older. The number of people age 65 and above will nearly double between 2000 and 2030.
In Arizona in the year 2000, there were 641,766 citizens age 65 or older. In 2009, nine years later, the number had jumped to 867,508.
Sun City has a population of 38,508. Of that number, 15,939 are men and 22,569 are women. (Don't ask why because I value my life!) The median age in Sun City is 71.2, in the United Sates 35.3.
So what we have is more senior requiring more care with the same number of health care providers (surgeons, doctors, nurses, etc.).
Next month: Chronic Disease.
Have a great month and stay healthy!
~Chaplain Larry
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