Poor medical care of seniors

Old report: Poor medical care of seniors. Seniors receive too much medication and too little rehab.

12/15/2010

Older patients often receive from the doctor instead of the required medical measures only a variety of different drugs. The alarming result: seniors often have to take care of their care much too soon.

The current Federal Government's report on old age makes it clear that seniors in Germany are increasingly disadvantaged in medical care. The social association VdK criticized in view of the results of the old report one „covert age discrimination“, Because the elderly are often denied urgently needed rehab cures and psychotherapeutic treatments and they are instead fed with medication. Only when a doctor orders the rehabilitation do patients officially have one „According to the report of the old-age report, the doctors tend to treat more and more superficially especially people over the age of 65 years and to prescribe generous medicines rather than rehab measures or psychotherapeutic treatments usually less attention from their treating physician than younger patients, so the representation in the old report of the Federal Government

Age discrimination in the care practice
The „age-discriminating patterns“ According to the report, comparisons between younger and older patients with causes of death, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, were found. It should be noted that patients over the age of 65 years average „a less expensive treatment“ as younger ones got and „To observe a maximum of medical care in the middle age (was), while among the over 90 year olds consistently the least services were provided“, if they have symptoms such as acute upper abdominal pain, a weak heart or vascular disease. Thus, of the over-60s only half of all cases are treated adequately and in the over 70-year-olds, there would be a much higher supply deficit, criticize the authors of the report. Despite the principle of health insurance: „Rehabilitation before care“, elderly patients are granted an increasingly rare rehab cure, which is why those affected often have too long in long-term care and thus cause significantly higher costs in the health system. The physicians would in the granting of a rehab too often based on the cost and not on the benefits of rehab, according to the reproach in the elderly report.

Doctors prescribe a variety of medications
Another criticism of the current Altenbericht in relation to the medical care practice in seniors, is the „almost careless handling of several medications“. Thus, every fifth patient over the age of 70 is prescribed an average of 13 drugs or more in parallel, often without sufficient coordination and coordination, explain the authors of the report. Because with the medics are the „Knowledge about interactions and unwanted side effects is often poor“, so patients - despite the growing with age and the number of drugs risk of unwanted AC and side effects - is often prescribed a veritable drug cocktail. An 80-year-old patient consumes an average of 1343 daily doses of various medicines a year, according to the current report on elderly people. The fact that there is probably an oversupply here is also obvious to the layman.

Also problematic, according to the report of the elderly, the psychotherapeutic care of seniors. For example, mental health problems, such as old age depression and dementia, are often regarded by physicians as normal side effects of aging and are largely ignored. Already at the age of 60 years, at most half of the patients had prescribed the necessary psychological treatments, and among the over-70s there was this area „a significant supply deficit“, write the authors of the old report.

Federal Ministry of Health: No reason to divert
However, the Federal Ministry of Health was not very impressed by the outcome of the current age report. Although the federal government takes the evidence of inadequate rehabilitation of elders in their own words „very seriously“, but diverting from politics is disclosed as unnecessary. The Federal Ministry of Health sees no reason in the current old-age report to correct the previous course. As spokesman for the ministry emphasized „VIP News“: „Precisely because the federal government has recognized deficits in care, the coalition is in the process of eliminating past deficits. For example, a supply law is planned for next year to fill gaps in the supply. Also in the care of deficiencies to be pursued and legislative foundations to be improved.“ But not all gaps in the care practice will be closed and in particular the physicians should feel called on, given the report on the elderly, to advocate more for the adequate treatment of elderly patients. (Fp)

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Many seniors are drug dependent
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Picture: M.E.