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Boomers and Seniors Flock to Their
Docs
Excerpt
By Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay
Aging boomers are taking a more aggressive role in their health,
and that translates into increasing numbers of visits to doctors
for preventive care and treatment of chronic conditions.
The proof: There were 880.5 million
visits to doctors' offices in the U.S. in 2001, and more than
half of those patients were middle-aged or senior citizens, says
a new government survey.
While the number of people in the United States over age 45 rose
11 percent in the last decade, doctor visits by that age group
increased 26 percent in the same time period.
The report, called the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey,
looks at medical care provided in physicians' offices. It was
compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Other highlights of the report: Diagnostic and screening tests
were up 28 percent from 1992 to 2001. And doctor visits that also
included education or counseling, such as how to improve your
diet, increased by 34 percent.
Catharine Burt is chief of the ambulatory care statistics branch
at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics and a co-author
of the report. She says both baby boomers and seniors "are coming
in for a lot of preventive care, a lot of renewal of [drug] prescriptions
and checking of chronic conditions."
"Doctors are more aggressive in treating chronic disease," she
adds, and that requires follow-up care.
Leading Diagnoses: High Blood Pressure,
Arthritis, Common Cold
The survey found the leading diagnoses during office visits
in 2001 were for high blood pressure, arthritis and other joint
problems, and the common cold. At 27 million of the doctor visits
in 2001, diabetes was the primary diagnosis.
The survey also found that approximately one-third of all office
visits were for chronic conditions; 35.3 percent for acute problems
such as sudden illness; and 16.8 percent for preventive care.
The top five types of drugs prescribed in 2001 were for heart
and kidney problems, pain, respiratory tract problems, hormones,
and drugs for central nervous system problems.
Burt says another interesting finding is that house calls aren't
dead. "One-third of doctors in rural areas do house calls," she
says. Nationwide, only about 18 percent of doctors say they make
house calls.
E-mail consultations, the survey also found, aren't common between
doctors and their patients. "Only 6 percent of doctors made any
e-mail consultations," Burt says. And they didn't make frequent
use of the e-mail messages, she adds.
The survey's findings make sense to Richard Levy, a pharmacologist
and vice president of scientific affairs for the National Pharmaceutical
Council, an industry group. "There's a greater awareness of illness,"
he says, "and not just manufactured illness but real illness."
The survey findings of increased use and prescription of drugs
underscores the fact that Americans are more aware of the dangers
of high cholesterol and high blood pressure, for instance, and
are trying to get those conditions under control, Levy says.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more
information on general
health, and the number of people who engage
in healthy behaviors.
Reference
Source 101
For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick
Prevention Resources".
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