At the Intersection of Health, Health Care and Policy Cite this article as: Mark Supiano and Cathy Alessi Older Adults And The Health Care Workforce Health Affairs, 33, no.5 (2014):907-908 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0291
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Health Affairs is published monthly by Project HOPE at 7500 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 600, Bethesda, MD 20814-6133. Copyright © 2014 by Project HOPE - The People-to-People Health Foundation. As provided by United States copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code), no part of Health Affairs may be reproduced, displayed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or by information storage or retrieval systems, without prior written permission from the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution Downloaded from content.healthaffairs.org by Health Affairs on March 15, 2015 at TEXAS A&M INTL UNIV
Letters There is a limit of 300 words for letters to the editor. Health Affairs reserves the right to edit all letters for clarity, length, and tone. Letters can be submitted by e-mail, [email protected], or the Health Affairs website, http:// www.healthaffairs.org.
doi:
10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0291
Older Adults And The Health Care Workforce We applaud Timothy Dall and coauthors (Nov 2013) for calling attention to the profound implications of an aging US population for health care. However, in addition to increasing the number of providers, we must ensure that the workforce of the future is prepared to care for older adults. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has documented the paucity of training that is related to the care of older adults and has called for action to ensure that the entire health care workforce is competent to care for these patients. 1 In its 2010 report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission called for all physicians to have basic geriatric competency and noted that graduate medical education should be accountable for achieving that goal.2 Following the release of the IOM report, the American Geriatrics Society and the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs joined with other organizations to support a greater focus on older adults across physicians’ training. We defined appropriate geriatrics competencies
that physicians should possess after completing their training.3 In addition, geriatrics health professionals embarking on academic careers must be supported, since they will be needed to train the rest of the workforce. To care for the elderly with the most complex conditions, we must address the shortage of geriatricians. These combined efforts are required to address Dall and coauthors’ call for a “health care workforce that can effectively and efficiently diagnose and treat patients with complex medical conditions.” Mark Supiano and Cathy Alessi American Geriatrics Society NEW YORK , NEW YORK NOTES 1 Institute of Medicine. Retooling for an aging America: building the health care workforce. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 2008. 2 Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Aligning incentives in Medicare. Washington (DC): MedPAC; 2010 Jun. 3 American Geriatrics Society. Existing formal geriatrics competencies and milestones [Internet]. New York (NY): The Society; [cited 2014 Feb 19]. Available from: http://www.american geriatrics.org/health_care_professionals/ education/curriculum_guidelines_ competencies/existing_formal_geriatrics_ competencies
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The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is available at: http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/33/5/907.2.full.html
For Reprints, Links & Permissions: http://healthaffairs.org/1340_reprints.php E-mail Alerts : http://content.healthaffairs.org/subscriptions/etoc.dtl To Subscribe: http://content.healthaffairs.org/subscriptions/online.shtml
Health Affairs is published monthly by Project HOPE at 7500 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 600, Bethesda, MD 20814-6133. Copyright © 2014 by Project HOPE - The People-to-People Health Foundation. As provided by United States copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code), no part of Health Affairs may be reproduced, displayed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or by information storage or retrieval systems, without prior written permission from the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution Downloaded from content.healthaffairs.org by Health Affairs on March 15, 2015 at TEXAS A&M INTL UNIV
Letters There is a limit of 300 words for letters to the editor. Health Affairs reserves the right to edit all letters for clarity, length, and tone. Letters can be submitted by e-mail, [email protected], or the Health Affairs website, http:// www.healthaffairs.org.
doi:
10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0291
Older Adults And The Health Care Workforce We applaud Timothy Dall and coauthors (Nov 2013) for calling attention to the profound implications of an aging US population for health care. However, in addition to increasing the number of providers, we must ensure that the workforce of the future is prepared to care for older adults. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has documented the paucity of training that is related to the care of older adults and has called for action to ensure that the entire health care workforce is competent to care for these patients. 1 In its 2010 report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission called for all physicians to have basic geriatric competency and noted that graduate medical education should be accountable for achieving that goal.2 Following the release of the IOM report, the American Geriatrics Society and the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs joined with other organizations to support a greater focus on older adults across physicians’ training. We defined appropriate geriatrics competencies
that physicians should possess after completing their training.3 In addition, geriatrics health professionals embarking on academic careers must be supported, since they will be needed to train the rest of the workforce. To care for the elderly with the most complex conditions, we must address the shortage of geriatricians. These combined efforts are required to address Dall and coauthors’ call for a “health care workforce that can effectively and efficiently diagnose and treat patients with complex medical conditions.” Mark Supiano and Cathy Alessi American Geriatrics Society NEW YORK , NEW YORK NOTES 1 Institute of Medicine. Retooling for an aging America: building the health care workforce. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 2008. 2 Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Aligning incentives in Medicare. Washington (DC): MedPAC; 2010 Jun. 3 American Geriatrics Society. Existing formal geriatrics competencies and milestones [Internet]. New York (NY): The Society; [cited 2014 Feb 19]. Available from: http://www.american geriatrics.org/health_care_professionals/ education/curriculum_guidelines_ competencies/existing_formal_geriatrics_ competencies
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