Healthy Aging and Older Adults: The Path to Better Age-Friendly Care

As the care field becomes bigger, doctors are expanding their specialties to cater to specific demographics. One way that the field is changing is with age-friendly care for healthy aging. So, what is “age-friendly” care and how can you benefit?

Healthy Aging and Age-Friendly Care

What is Age-Friendly Care?

Healthy aging with age-friendly care is a health care approach that uniquely addresses the needs and wishes of older adults to aid them in the pursuit of a higher quality of life. With this research-based kind of care, doctors use a combination of best practices and the newest studies to pay special attention to older patients and provide better care services.

Many of them are geriatricians – primary care physicians who have additional training to better treat older adults, especially those over 65. One approach that geriatricians take in this type of care is  remembering the 4 M’s:

• What matters as a person ages?
• Are there medications that can further help?
• Do they display healthy mentanation or thinking?
• How mobile is the patient?

An age-friendly care system for healthy aging is one in which an older adult’s care:

• Is guided by the 4 M’s
• Causes no harm
• Is consistent with what matters for seniors and their families

Why is Age-Friendly Care Important for Healthy Aging?

Simply put, older adults have needs unique to them. In a quickly evolving health care system, to prevent harm to seniors, doctors are tasked with improving their patient outcomes while lowering costs. The health system must adapt to these changes while implementing evidence-based models and practices that deliver a greater degree of care to the aging population across both their homes and the community.

Wondering what a CCRC has to offer in your golden years? Learn about aging on your terms with your FREE Continuing Care Retirement Community Guide.