A joint report, entitled "When I'm 64: How Boomers Will Change Health Care," from First Consulting Group, a healthcare IT services firm located in Alpharetta, Ga., and the American Hospital Association (AHA, Washington), discusses the demands that boomers will place on healthcare, and how hospitals will respond.
Key findings of the report include:
- By 2030, there will be over 70 million Americans over the age of 65 demanding healthcare services to manage chronic conditions.
- By 2030,14 million boomers will have diabetes — almost half of the total number of
Americans (30 million) that have the disease now.
- By 2030, 26 million Boomers — nearly half of the Boomer population — will have
arthritis.
- By 2030, more than 21 million Boomers will be considered obese, and their care will cost Medicare 34 percent more than others.
- By 2020, the registered nurse shortage will reach 1 million.
- By 2020, hospital admissions among Boomers will increase more than 100 percent,
totaling half of all admissions in America.
- Knee replacement surgeries will increase 800 percent by 2030.
According to the report, hospitals have begun improving patient flow management, increasing recruiting efforts at medical and nursing schools, and creating outpatient programs for chronic conditions.
