Although 11% of the U.S. population has multiple chronic conditions, these patients consume a majority of inpatient care, Vizient said in a March 3 report.
“The center of gravity has shifted,” the report said, as many healthcare organizations are defining access issues as a throughput equation, rather than a changing patient profile. Namely, an aging population with more chronic health needs.
Patients with multiple chronic conditions account for 52% of inpatient admissions, 35% of emergency department visits and 32% of office visits, according to the Vizient Research Institute. Additionally, patients with at least one chronic condition make up nearly 8 in 10 inpatient admissions.
Among Medicare beneficiaries, more than half of those ages 65 to 74 have at least one chronic condition, and the same is true among nearly two-thirds of those 75 and older.
With the 75-and-older population projected to increase 44% over the next decade, the U.S. healthcare industry faces additional challenges.
“Most systems were built for episodic acute care, but they must now serve an aging population defined by longitudinal multi chronic care needs,” the report said.
For the report, the institute analyzed claims data for nearly 81 million beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance plans. Access the full report here.
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