Rising Problem Comes With Rising Costs

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Alzheimers disease costs an estimated $1 billion annually placing it right behind heart disease and cancer in straining the U.S. health care delivery system, according to the Alzheimers Association in Chicago. Providing appropriate care for the more than 4 million Americans suffering from Alzheimers poses difficult challenges for health care organizations. The average Alzheimers patient survives an average of eight years and as many as 20 years with this multifaceted disease which leaves its victims with a unique set of social, medical, and psychological needs. The average lifetime cost of caring for an Alzheimers patient is $174,000, a staggering one considering that the Alzheimers population in the United States is expected to reach 14 million by 2050.

In this special report, Disease State Management introduces the recently released Alzheimers care guidelines developed by the California Workgroup on Guidelines for Alzheimers Disease Management, sponsored in part by the Alzheimers Association of Los Angeles, for use in the primary care setting. You will also find information on training your staff to work with Alzheimers patients and their families, the 10 warning signs of early Alzheimers, and a case study of an Alzheimers management program developed by a large managed care organization.

Source Citation

"Rising problem comes with rising costs." Disease State Management 1 Sept. 1999. Academic OneFile. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

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