As health care continues to grow and advance; the aging population is on the rise. Serafini and Galewitz (2012), state “Trustees of the Medicare program today forecast increased financial troubles as a result of an aging population and rising health care costs…” (para 1) According to research, by 2030 20% of the aging population will be over 50 years old. This will affect the health market because the need for more geriatric services will increase as well as the need for more health care workers (Albert, 2007). Since the elderly population have different healthcare needs oppose to the younger generation, this puts a great demand on the healthcare system to provide necessary health care resources. The three major problems the health care system is facing with the aging population are chronic illnesses, funding, and qualified professional needed to provide the services this aging population needs. This paper will review the current health care problems that health care professional are facing with caring for the aging population as well as provide solutions that will possibly help to reduce these problems.
Chronic diseases of the aging population and the health care resources needed With an already taxed health care system the aging population is one of the biggest users of the system. One reason is the aging population has many chronic conditions. These include but are not limited to the following; Diabetes, Arthritis, Dementia, Parkinson’s, Lung disease, and Cardiovascular disease. This is just a small list and many of these conditions are treatable, this is according to Parent Giving (2013) . Many of these conditions are treatable, but the older person must be properly diagnosed by a doctor. Then by making small changes in their daily living and the quality of life should improve. One solution is through educating the aging population about their condition; in doing this they will improve their lifestyle and