From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   Interesting article that disproves the belief that it's the elderly that are   
   the greatest burden to our medical system.  Seems it's the young and   
   middle-aged that are the highest-cost.     
      
   So maybe our 'aging population' is not the millstone it's portrayed to be . .   
   .  and maybe it's time to start looking at *preventative medical care* instead   
   of *treatment for* medical conditions?     
   ____________________________________   
   CBC News Posted: Jan 11, 2016   
      
   Small group of expensive patients account for most health spending   
      
   Majority of people over age 65 cost the health-care system less than a cup of   
   expensive coffee a day   
      
      
   About one per cent of Canadians account for a third of health-care costs and   
   there's striking differences by age group, say researchers who hope the   
   findings will help doctors to meet patient needs.   
      
   Their findings, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal,   
   was based on almost 15 million people in Ontario who were eligible for   
   health-care funding between 2009 and 2011.   
      
   The study revealed how health-care spending is concentrated among high-end   
   users in different age groups and with different illnesses.   
      
   Researchers did not undertake the study as a cost-saving exercise but to help   
   plan policies to better meet patient needs, said study author Dr. David Henry   
   of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.   
      
   "We need to better predict who's going to become a high-cost user," Henry   
   said. "We need to be much better at doing that for their sake and for   
   society's sake."   
      
   For Henry, the breakdowns by age group were revealing.   
      
   Among children and teens, nearly 40 per cent of total spending was focused on   
   the   
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   top one per cent of users, who cost about $8,000 per person annually.  The   
   reasons included low-birth weight and prematurity that require neonatal   
   intensive care, lengthy treatment for depression for some teens, and   
   chemotherapy for cancer.   
      
   For those aged 18 to 64, chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis or hardening   
   of the arteries, congestive heart failure with heart damage, and the   
   requirement for palliative care, cost about $22,000 per person a year.  Those   
   in the top one per cent    
   accounted for 36 per cent of total spending.   
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   For those over 65, the top one per cent accounted for 16 per cent of total   
      
      
      
      
      
      
                                                                                    
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   expenditures, about $83,000 per person annually. The reasons included   
   congestive heart failure, chronic lung disease, hip fractures and pneumonia.   
   Better transitions   
      
   Costs were less concentrated among those in the oldest age group, said Henry,   
   who is also a researcher at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences   
   (ICES).   
      
   "The majority of over 65s don't cost the health-care system very much.  As   
   long as we keep ourselves in good health and many people try very hard to do   
   that, then it will work."   
      
   Henry said if medical and social interventions are focused on those at risk of   
   becoming sick with chronic disease then it's hoped they'll stay out of   
   hospital and long-term care while maintaining quality of life with reasonable   
   symptom control.   
      
   The findings highlight how little health care the average person uses, said   
   Dr. Rick Glazier, a family physician at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and   
   ICES scientist who was not involved in the study.   
      
   For Glazier, the research points to how fragmented the health-care system   
   remains. It's a frustration that comes to the fore during transitions in care,   
   such as when someone is discharged from hospital and doesn't bring the   
   discharge summary to their    
   next appointment.   
      
   "A lot of time and effort is just starting now to go into figure out how to   
   manage those transitions better," Glazier said.  "For the public, it's an area   
   of our health system that isn't  functioning all that well, but there's a real   
   hope for."   
      
   The Ontario government spent $42 billion on health care in 2009.  About 75 per   
   cent of the funds were for individuals and the rest on public health,   
   community service agencies and administration.   
      
   Previous Canadian data has shown that spending has been concentrated on   
   high-cost users for decades.   
      
   http://www.searchquotes.com/sof/images/picture_quotes/31525_2013   
   012_181320_elderly01.jpg   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)