Multiple chronic conditions, not age, main driver of health system use by seniors

Study identifies gaps in primary health care for seniors with multiple chronic conditions
The number of health care services seniors use is determined more by the number of chronic conditions they have than by their age, according to a new study from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). The study found that older seniors (85 and older) with no chronic conditions made less than half the number of health care visits as younger seniors (65 to 74) with three or more chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
CIHI’s study Seniors and the Health Care System: What Is the Impact of Multiple Chronic Conditions? examines how seniors not living in institutions access health services and what kind of care they receive. According to the study, three out of four Canadians age 65 and older reported having at least one chronic condition, while one in four seniors reported having three or more.
27/01/2011
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)
Nota de prensa
1. Chronic Diseases
1.2. Complex, Chronic Diseases (Pluri-pathology)
8.1.1. Centros de Atención Primaria