Judith Graham | (TNS) KFF Health News
Susanne Gilliam, 67, slipped on some black ice while going to get the mail in January, causing her left knee and ankle to hurt.
After calling her husband for help, she managed to make it back home with difficulty.
This led to a series of frustrating experiences that many people go through when dealing with the disorganized healthcare system in the United States.
Gilliam's orthopedic surgeon, who had previously helped with her knee issues, saw her that afternoon but said he couldn't help with her ankle.
She was then referred to an ankle specialist who ordered new X-rays and an MRI. Gilliam wanted to get the scans done at a hospital close to her home, but there were issues getting the doctor's order for the appointment.
Arranging the care she needed for recovery, including physical therapy, became a part-time job for Gilliam. She needed separate visits for her knee and ankle several times a week.
Gilliam mentioned, "The effort of organizing everything I need is enormous. It leaves you feeling mentally and physically drained."
The toll the American healthcare system takes on patients is partly due to the incredible advancements in medicine. However, it also reflects the mismatch between older adults' abilities and the demands of the healthcare system.
Thomas H. Lee, chief medical officer at Press Ganey, acknowledged, "We have gained extensive knowledge and abilities in treating various conditions, but the system has become extremely complicated."
The intricacy is heightened by the numerous guidelines for different medical conditions, financial incentives that encourage more medical care, and specialization among clinicians, explained Ishani Ganguli, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Ishani Ganguli, a Harvard Medical School professor, noted, "It's common for older patients to have three or more heart specialists with regular appointments and tests. For those with multiple medical problems, interactions with the healthcare system become even more frequent."
Ganguli is the author of a new study revealing that Medicare patients spend around three weeks a year undergoing medical tests, visiting doctors, receiving treatments or medical procedures, seeking care in emergency rooms, or staying in hospitals or rehabilitation facilities. The data is from 2019, before the covid pandemic disrupted care patterns. Any services received counted as a day of healthcare contact.
The study discovered that slightly over 1 in 10 seniors, including those recovering from serious illnesses, spent a significant part of their lives receiving care— at least 50 days a year.
Ganguli emphasized, "Some of this may greatly benefit and be valuable for people, while some may be less essential. We don't discuss enough about the realistic expectations for older adults in terms of what we're asking them to do."
Victor Montori, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, has been warning about the challenges that patients face when getting medical care for many years. These challenges include not only the time spent at medical appointments, but also tasks like arranging appointments, finding transportation, getting and taking medications, dealing with insurance, paying bills, monitoring health at home, and following medical recommendations like changes to diet.
Four years ago, Montori and some colleagues publishe