Managing Chronic Illness in Seniors: Innovative Approaches to Care

Seniors comprise the largest population of adults over the age of 18 years. It is expected that by 2030, 74 million Americans will be over the age of 65 years, with a substantial number of these over age 85. Seniors experience more chronic illnesses, are responsible for the majority of outpatient clinic visits, take significantly more medications, and are more often hospitalized compared to younger adults. Managing chronic illness in seniors involves lifestyle change and medical therapies/interventions. As time constraints increase for providers and the population of seniors requiring additional medical attention grows, the capacity of providers to comprehensively address these needs will decrease. It is imperative that we find new, innovative, and better ways to provide the level of health care that is needed and deserved by seniors. This article reviews options for the management of chronic illness, with a focus on cardiovascular diseases, for seniors.