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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Rising use of physician services by the elderly
— the contribution of morbidity | | Author(s) | Charlyn Black, Noralou P Roos, Betty Havens |
| Journal title | Canadian Journal on Aging, vol 14, no 2, Summer 1995 |
| Pages | pp 225-244 |
| Keywords | General practice ; Usage [services] ; Ill health ; Demography ; Longitudinal surveys ; Canada. |
| Annotation | Research to date suggests that the impact of an ageing population on health services in Canada has been small. However, because the relationship between morbidity and rising usage has not yet been studied, there is considerable debate about the extent to which increased "need" for care contributes to patterns of rising use. This research studies the impact of changes in numbers, demographics and morbidity patterns of older people on per capita and aggregate consumption of general practice services at two points in time. Linked survey and doctor claims data for representative samples of older people in 1971 and 1983 were used to study patterns of use by age and health status. Per capita use of both consult and non-consult visits rose across all categories, with older individuals and those in poor health experiencing greater increases in use than younger and healthier individuals. At the aggregate level, a large percentage of this increase in medical service use was related to increased numbers of older people. Changes in "need" attributable to ageing and increased morbidity had only minor effects. Indeed, most GP consultations were directed at those in better health. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-970821255 A |
| Classmark | L5: QLD: CH: S8: 3J: 7S |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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