America's Aging Population Crisis: How Health Care Systems Are Preparing for the Silver Tsunami by 30Seconds Mom

America is getting older. We have thousands of Americans celebrating their 65th birthday almost every day, and several researchers estimate that 82 million Americans will be 65 or older by 2050, which means that for the first time in U.S. history, elderly citizens will exceed the number of children.

This historic demographic change has been given a very memorable nickname: the "Silver Tsunami."

It sounds dramatic, but it hits the mark perfectly. Baby boomers are reaching their retirement age, the birth rate is declining and life expectancy is longer than ever before. And all of this is felt across the health-care system.

Although a longer life expectancy is one of the biggest achievements of modern medicine, the health-care system now faces an unexpected challenge. No matter how advanced the American health-care system has become, it wasn't originally designed to tackle millions of older adults with multiple chronic diseases. That said, everyone's curious about how American health care is responding to it.

What Is the Silver Tsunami and Why Is It Happening Now?

The Silver Tsunami is a term often used to describe America's growing older adult population.

The scale of the Silver Tsunami can be understood by the fact that every baby boomer will be at least 65 years old by 2030. At the same time, adults aged 85 and older are also one of the fastest-growing age groups across the country, directly indicating that the health-care industry needs to do something. Yes, people older than 85 usually have cognitive decline, frailty issues, and comorbidities, requiring more frequent medical follow-ups and coordinated health care.

None of this means that the silver tsunami is necessarily bad news. But it does mean that our healthcare system needs to catch up fast to keep our older adults healthy.

Why Is the Aging Population Straining America's Health-Care System?

One of the biggest issues America's health-care system has been facing for the last couple of years is a workforce shortage. Hospitals, clinics and all health-care sectors are run by people, yet they are struggling to fill critical positions. Although there are a large number of facilities, they often lack enough physicians, nurses, caregivers and other staff to run them seamlessly.

Coupling that with rapidly aging baby boomers and their growing demands is putting a massive strain on health-care across the U.S. Older patients need more complex care to manage multiple chronic conditions, review various medications for any adverse interactions, coordinate specialist referrals and more. Given all that, the providers are expected to do much more than usual with fewer resources. To top it off, there is also a shortage of doctors who specialize in senior care, making care even harder both for the system and patients alike.

Unlike other specialists, geriatricians are experts in understanding how age, chronic illnesses, medications, cognitive health and functional ability interact as a whole. Many experts are arguing that having more geriatricians is not the ideal solution. There is a need to ensure that every physician has a strong foundation in geriatric care.

Another big problem is that the health-care system across America is designed to treat acute illnesses and medical emergencies, where people receive their one-time treatments and rarely have to follow up for years. Geriatric care, on the other hand, needs continuous ongoing support to not only treat the disease but also to maintain their quality of life, which can be very challenging. It needs coordinated care among physicians so that there are no duplicated tests, conflicting treatment plans or fatal medication interactions.

There's also an issue of rising costs and how the increasing demands are putting pressure on already existing resources. Owing to all these facts, hospitals are struggling to keep up, and as a result, patients are facing longer wait times, shorter appointments and more complicated care.

How Health Care Systems Are Responding to the Silver Tsunami

Preparing for a Silver Tsunami is not as simple as it might sound. It needs a complete redesign of the health-care system. The government has already started initiatives by making health-care organizations adapt technologies for more coordinated and preventive health-care needs. Some notable initiatives include:

1. Strengthening Primary Care

Primary care is taking the central position in the American health-care industry. Instead of waiting for an illness to get big enough to require hospitalization, doctors and health-care providers are now trying to nip the evil in the bud through preventive care, early intervention and chronic disease management.

Things have become even easier with Electronic Health Records, where all data is kept up-to-date, so that every doctor can access it and devise the best treatment plan for elderly patients living with multiple illnesses.

2. Expanding Team-Based Care

Since aging patients need full-time care, the burden cannot be borne by a single doctor. That's why the healthcare system across the US is adopting team-based care, where physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychotherapists, social workers, and even care coordinators work together. It allows the physicians to focus solely on the complex medical decisions. At the same time, the rest of the team supports all the other aspects of healthcare like medication management, rehab, education and ongoing monitoring.

3. Home-based Care

As hospitals are getting packed with patients, there have been several initiatives to provide health-care to all patients who require ongoing monitoring. You might be familiar with hospital-at-home programs. Such programs not only provide health services at home, but also use remote monitoring or community-based care to help elderly patients receive medical care without having to wait long hours at the hospital.

4. Digital Health

Digital health technologies are among the most loved by both elderly patients and clinicians. They help health-care providers understand how the condition of their patients changes between their follow-up visits. If someone is unable to visit a hospital, telehealth has become a great alternative to hospital visits. The remote monitoring devices track the vitals of patients, and if something goes wrong, the health-care providers are immediately notified, and they can schedule a quick follow-up with elderly patients through telemedicine without risking the golden period.

5. Artificial Intelligence

We can see AI making significant changes in all industries, and health care is no different. Most health-care facilities have adopted Artificial Intelligence for various tasks like documentation, summarization of patient records, identification of medication interactions, prediction of any risks of hospitalization for patients and automated allocation of resources.

As AI takes care of most admin work and also analyzes large clinical data instantly, physicians have more time to focus on their geriatric patients' health and wellness.

Need for Geriatric-Focused Medical Education

Even though the health-care industry is investing in technology and innovative approaches, none of them can succeed if the workforce is not well-prepared. That's why there are many ongoing debates on the need for geriatric-focused medical education. Health-care professionals need stronger training in geriatric diagnosis and medicine, dementia care, medication management, frailty assessment, communication with patients as well as their caregivers and also deprescribing.

Some institutions like Keuka College are already upgrading their education programs to prepare the next generation of health-care providers who will have more geriatric knowledge, clinical experience, and a collaborative mindset to take care of an aging America.

The Silver Tsunami has thrown the health-care system of America into a frenzy. Our current health-care system is not designed to manage the health of millions of elders having a couple of diseases at the same time. However, the need for evolution is visible to any watchful eye, and the health-care industry is already taking measures to upgrade the system so it can support healthy aging and longevity of elders.

Note: The content on 30Seconds.com is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered medical advice. The information on this site should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease, and is not a substitute for professional care. Always consult your personal healthcare provider. The opinions or views expressed on 30Seconds.com do not necessarily represent those of 30Seconds or any of its employees, corporate partners or affiliates.

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