Doctors Are Ageist -- and It's Harming Older Adults

Ageism is rampant in the U.S. medical profession, which puts older adults in harm's way, reports NBC News . Medication-related problems often attributed to physicians' ageism are estimated to be one of the top five causes of death in people 65 and older. This ageism is rooted in the failure to adequately prepare providers to meet the needs of the senior population, requiring the values, training, and attitudes of the mainstream healthcare community to be overhauled. A study from the American Society on Aging determined ageism "permeates the attitudes of medical providers, the mindset of older adults, and the structure of the healthcare system, having a potentially profound influence on the type and amount of care offered, requested, and received." Moreover, a report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found one in five adults older than 50 experiences age-related discrimination in healthcare settings, with one in 17 encountering it frequently. Both physicians and seniors often mistakenly assume that pain, fatigue, depression, and dependency are "normal" to aging, and medical schools routinely exclude geriatrics as a specialty that students are regularly exposed to. This amps up the urgency for the medical profession to understand the value older adults offer practitioners in areas that include managing complexity, patience, listening, inclusivity, and providing care to all people with dignity and respect.