The Baby Boomers Are The Largest Generation In American History
there are 79 million baby boomers!
The Baby Boomer epidemic
When You Hear "Baby Boomer epidemic," Most People Think of the 350,000 Kids who Got Polio In The 1950s
These Terrible Diseases Can Have Awful Complications
the real bad news
the real number is much larger than 21 million. about 4 million people die from chf, type 2 diabetes, alzheimer's and copd every year. they are replaced with 4 million new disease sufferers every year.
so, between 2019 - 2029, 60 million people suffer and die from advanced and end stage…
* Congestive Heart Failure
* Type 2 Diabetes
* COPD
* Alzheimer's Disease
beyond suffering
the financial cost of treating so many patients is tremendous
the sickest end stage chronic disease patients spend even more. (they are called "the super-utilizers")
yearly cost of medical care
but there's some good news!
we can:
- reduce suffering
- cut down on spending
the keys are:
- keeping patients stable
- keep patients out of the hospital
76% of that spending goes for one aspect of care - hospital bills
50% of those costs could potentially be eliminated with:
- better daily disease management
- planning in advance for humane, patient centered end-of-life care
recent studies show that 1/2 of those hospitalizations can be prevented with better disease management
medication adherence
recognizing disease-specific warning signs & calling the doctor right away
the caregiving life is a program for the people who are with our sickest patients every day
home health workers and family caregivers
celebrating them
teaching them the disease management skills that will keep patients:
* safe
* stable
* out of the hospital
