title: A vision of long-term care. To care for tomorrow's elderly, hospitals must plan now, not react later.
abstract: In the next two decades, rapid, fundamental changes will take place in the way we finance, organize, and provide long-term care services. Because the elderly make up such a large portion of the patient population, America's hospitals should be concerned--and involved. There are six keys to the future of long-term care: a sharp increase in elderly population, a new generation of elderly, restrained government role, intergenerational strains, growing corporate concern, and the rise of "gerotechnology." These trends and countertrends will result in a new look in the long-term care landscape. By the year 2010, changes will include a true public-private financing system, provider reimbursement on the basis of capitation and prospective payment, coordinated access to services, dominant alternative delivery systems, a different breed of nursing homes, fewer staffing problems, patient-centered care, a new importance in housing, and an emphasis on prevention. For hospitals, this future vision of long-term care means that significant opportunities will open up to meet the needs of the elderly-at-risk and to achieve a competitive position in the burgeoning elderly care industry.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003710:Demography; D005544:Forecasting; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000639:trends*; D006752:Hospital Planning; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000639:trends*; D014481:United States