Last month I wrote a commentary about Alzheimer’s cruel toll in West Virginia.
According to the West Virginia Alzheimer’s Association, 38,000 West Virginians are living with the disease and that number is expected to rise to 44,000 in five years.
An estimated 106,000 caregivers are responsible for West Virginians with Alzheimer’s and, annually, caregivers provide over 120 million hours of unpaid care. West Virginia spent $430 million in state and federal Medicaid dollars last year caring for people with Alzheimer’s and that number is expected to rise by 20% by 2025.
Now the just-released Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures reports some additional perspective about the treatment of patients. Here are some of the highlights:
Nationally, nine out of 10 physicians say they expected to see an increase in Alzheimer’s and dementia patients over the next five years.
Half of the physicians questioned “believe the medical profession and their colleagues are not prepared to meet the expected increase in demand.”
Thirty-nine percent say they are “never” or only “sometimes” comfortable making a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other dementias.
As of last year, West Virginia had only 19 practicing geriatricians. “It’s estimated that 64 of these specialized doctors are needed in West Virginia over the next three decades to meet the demand.”
That’s not likely to happen. The percent of older Americans is increasing, but the number of specially trained doctors to treat them is not. A 2018 study by the Southern Gerontological Society found that the number of doctors going into the field has stagnated, leading to a physician shortage.
According to the New York Times, “If one geriatrician can care for 700 patients with complicated medical needs, as a federal model estimates, the nation will need 32,200 such doctors in 2025. It has about 7,000, only half of them practicing full time.”
Sharon Rotenberry, executive director of Alzheimer’s Association of West Virginia, said, “With the number of West Virginia residents living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias increasing, it’s critically important that we take steps to ensure primary care physicians and other providers across the state are fully prepared to meet current and future dementia care needs.”
That means doctors not specifically trained to treat Alzheimer’s patients are going to have to learn how. The Times reported that a 2016 American Medical Association survey found that “close to 40% of patients treated by internists and general surgeons were Medicare beneficiaries.” That number in West Virginia must be even higher because of our older population.
Dr. Mark Supiano, who teaches at the University of Utah School of Medicine, told the Times that doctors in training must adjust to changing realities of the profession. He tells them, “If you don’t like taking care of older people, find another career.”
Hoppy Kercheval is a MetroNews anchor and the longtime host of “Talkline.” Contact him at hoppy.kercheval@wvradio.com.
