Quality of care can increase while costs are reduced: essential actions for health services for older adults

Abstract

While demographic and epidemiological transitions have brought improvements in health and social indicators in Brazil, in comparison with previous decades, they have also resulted in other consequences, such as the expansion of the older population and greater fiscal pressure on public and private health systems. As this portion of the population grows, chronic diseases also increase, with a resulting increase in demand for health services, which, in turn, can generate scarcity and/or constraints on resources. The diseases that affect older adults are mostly chronic and multiple. Hospital admissions become more frequent and bed occupancy time is longer than in other age groups. This is the current challenge that this article aims to answer, offering a resolutive, more efficient and less costly healthcare model for the fastest growing age group in Brazil.