IOM Releases Report on Adopting Healthcare Workforce
The aging of the Baby Boomer generation is no secret and the impact on healthcare is much discussed, particularly in financial terms. These considerations require new approaches in the healthcare arena. In particular, development of the workforce for healthcare systems demands an overhaul. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) created a group dedicated to assessing the market, the Committee on the Future Health Care Workforce for Older Americans.
The IOM recently published a report, Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce, that details the needs for the aging American population, particularly individuals over age 65. All this information is included in the IOM report. Moreover, it details the rate of growth among the senior segment of the population; estimated to shortly comprise 20 percent of the entire American population.
The needs of the senior population are translated, in the report, into an analysis of factors related to the healthcare workforce. This includes training and education, models of care, and private and public programs. The existing healthcare workforce is too small to meet the needs of the elderly population as it continues to grow. Moreover, the existing workforce is unprepared to meet the more complex health needs of seniors, who are more likely to have multiple health conditions.
To address these issues and support the best health quality for seniors across their lifespan, a number of recommendations are described in the report. One of which is to explore means to broaden the responsibilities and duties of all healthcare workers at a wide range of skill and responsibility levels. A second initiative described includes preparing and training informal caregivers to support the care of aging friends or family members. An additional recommendation is to develop new healthcare delivery models, including payment.
April 21, 2008 Related topics: Facilities, Trends, People, Partnerships & Consortia, Quality, Safety, Errors