Assignment

As we discussed in Week One, our society is becoming much older and much more culturally diverse. With the older adult population growing so drastically, the medical community is beginning to feel the impact. As to be expected, older adults are the highest users of physician services, prescription medication, hospital services, and long-term care facilities. Given this information on the problems and prospects of medical care in this community, analyze the following:

• The systematic and/or social inequities that exist with respect to care for older adults, and alternatively, how the medical community can become better equipped to care for elderly patients in 21st century medicine.

• What the future holds for the medical care in elderly communities.

• The direction we are headed with reference to long-term care and whether this direction is a positive or negative focus for the future of elder care.

Guided Response: Review several of your colleagues' posts and respond to at least two of your peers by 11:59 p.m. on Day 7 of the week. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful and interactive discourse in these discussions. Ask at least 1 question to obtain even more information regarding their thoughts on the required topic. Your posts should show that you have read the material in the text, guidance, online material as well as your group and/or partner's posts and have applied all of that to the question at hand. This is our form of communication and an opportunity to share our thoughts with others.